Trampled Underfoot
by PeaceJoJo
Summary: Sam wakes up with a problem, and Dean has to fill him in on what happened, because Sam can't remember why he's suddenly... different.
1. A Matter of Size and Reality

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Supernatural. I'm just writing this for fun.

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"Trampled Underfoot"

Chapter 1: A Matter of Size and Reality

Walking across the vast parking lot, Sam looks at the damp ground reflecting the moonlight, wondering if he's really doing the right thing. It's not that he actually likes the taste of the blood, in fact he hates it, but for some reason he feels like he's doing the right thing. It had to be. What could go wrong? He was saving people by doing it, so maybe it is worth the bitter taste. It sure beat killing people with the knife or the colt.

As Sam walks closer to his destination in the dark, cold, winter night, he hears a faint noise that makes him stop. He turns around and is both surprised and confused to see Bobby aiming his shotgun at him. "Bobby? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Sam. We thought we could do this, but we can't. Not anymore." Bobby looks upset, almost like he doesn't want to be there. But the older hunter wasn't about to back down.

"Bobby, what are you talking about?" Sam asks thinking Bobby has finally lost it.

Bobby's face grew bitter. "We know what you've been doing with Ruby."

Sam swallows hard. "…How?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Bobby, I can explain…"

"Not this time, son." Bobby raises the gun, leveling it with Sam's chest. "This is the only way."

Sam backs away. "You're going to kill me?"

"Not me," Bobby says as he shakes his head. "Dean will, though."

And just like that Bobby disappears right before Sam's eyes. Sam looks around, but doesn't see his old friend anywhere; instead he hears the all too familiar booming footsteps of his giant brother. For the first time since Dean grew, Sam was scared. He knows his brother and he knows how angry Dean gets, especially over Ruby. And now that Dean was a giant, one that could easily kill him without even trying, he didn't even want to think of what Dean would do to him.

The next footfall nearly sends Sam falling to the ground. Sam slowly turns around and is greeted by a giant, damp boot. He's a little taller than the top of Dean's boots, which are standing way too close for comfort. Next, he looks up. WAY up at his giant, towering brother. He looks past the thick denim clad legs, past his wide chest covered in a black shirt and his navy blue jacket, and then finally he sees Dean's face. From his position all he can see is the underside of Dean's chin. He can barely see Dean's eyes, but he doesn't need to see them to know how upset Dean really is with him.

Sam swallows again.

Dean finally glares down at him. "I'm sorry, Sam. I tried so hard to make this work. I tried to ignore the fact that you were sneaking off at night. I tried to pretend that everything was okay, but I can't. Not anymore."

"Dean, I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"What? Didn't what, Sam?" Dean's voice rises with every word. "Didn't drink the demon blood? Didn't listen to Ruby? Didn't choose a DEMON over your own brother?!"

Dean's voice is so loud now that it reverberates through Sam's chest. Sam wants to explain, he really does, but he can't find the words or strength to do it.

"Because the only thing I KNOW you didn't do is tell me!" Dean continues with rage, "You know that I can tell when you're lying and yet you still kept me in the dark, acting like _I_ was the idiot."

"Dean…" Sam says in a small voice, feeling as low as he looked to his giant of a brother.

"No. Not this time, Sam. I'm done with it. I'm done with all of the lies and the sneaking off behind my back. I'm done." Dean raises his boot high in the air and moves it over Sam's tiny form. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Lives depend on it."

"Dean, wait! Please," Sam begs, holding hands over his head as if that will protect him. Sam could only watch in horror as Dean's boot lifts up even higher before it comes crashing down on him. Sam yells for his brother just before impact.

"Sam!"

Sam's eyes shoot open. His heart is pounding hard and fast in his chest, ready to escape from its prison. Soaked in his sweat, he was exhausted and weak. He feels like he just ran a marathon.

Sam looks up at his brother, hovering over him and looking worried. Dean was still a giant in comparison. "Dean?" Sam asks, almost afraid that his dream was real or held some truth, and that Bobby and Dean know what he's been doing with Ruby.

"Are you okay?" Dean watches his brother nod his tiny head. "That must have been one hell of a nightmare you were having. You were all over the place."

"I'm fine…" Dean stands up straight now, still towering over Sam and that's when he notices it. "Where are we?" Sam looks around, noticing everything is proportionate to Dean's current size.

Dean sighs in frustration, running his hands down face. "Come on, Sam. We've been through this already. You know where we were are and you know what's going on. I've told you every day this week." Dean sees the confusion on his tiny brother's face and explains. "This whole me being a giant," he waves his one arm up and down his body. "I'm not, Sam. I never was."

"Yes, you are. You've been this way for days. Dean, I watched you grow right in front of me!" He remembers everything clearly. The scared look on Dean's face as he grew right in front of Sam as he kept his eyes on his tiny brother was crystal clear.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!" Sam argues back.

Dean shakes his head. "Just like always, you're too stubborn to see the truth," he says looking down at his tiny brother.

"Dean, come on. Stop messing around." Now Sam was starting to get worried. _What was going on?_

"I'm not, Sam!" Dean takes a breath to try and calm down. "Sam, I'm not the one who grew," Dean tries to explain, but again, Sam interrupts him.

"What are you talking about? Of course you did. Dean your boots are as big as a car! Don't you remember how you nearly crushed the Impala?"

"Sam." Dean leans down low, getting real close to him. "I didn't grow. You shrunk." Sam stays silent, still staring at his brother. "I've been trying to take care of you for days, but you just won't listen to anything I have to say. You just go back into your delusional world of me being a giant." Sam looks around the room, finally recognizing the place as a massive motel room. "And let me guess." Dean straightens up, glaring down at his brother. "That dream you just had was of me as a giant, right?"

"How…?"

"You've been having them ever since you shrunk, Sam!" Dean walks around to the end of the bed that Sam is sitting on. "Instead of coming to terms with what happened to you and accept that you shrunk, you try to make me seem like the freak. Like I'M the problem!"

"Dean, I'm sorry…" Sam speaks quietly as everything starts to sink in.

"No, you're not." Dean goes silent for a minute, sadly looking at his baby brother. "Not really. You've been acting this way even before you turned into a human action figure. You hoped that I wouldn't catch on, but I did." Dean pauses to shake his head to try and get rid of some of his anger. "This is just another way of you saying how weak and pathetic I've become ever since I came back from Hell. No matter what size you are, you still have to be the tough guy."

Sam watches as Dean walks over to the kitchenette and pours himself a cup of coffee. Once the black cup was filled, Dean guzzles down the warm liquid as he stares at his little brother, making Sam look away. Sam looks around the room and then over to his brother as he tries to remember what had happened, but all of the memories of Dean becoming a giant start to get fuzzy like a dream. "Dean?"

"What?" Dean says in a gruff voice, still annoyed with the way Sam was acting.

"What..." Sam looks down for a minute and then finally finds the courage to look at his brother's impatient face. "What happened to me?"

Dean swallows another gulp of his beverage and studies Sam. "You don't remember?"

Sam shakes his head. "All I remember is you growing right in front of me… But I know that wasn't real…was it?"

Seeing Sam's face, Dean knew right away that Sam had no clue what was going on. He was no longer living in a world where Dean was a giant. Sam finally understood that something was wrong with him, and not Dean. "So… you really don't think I'm a giant?"

Sam shook his head. "You look like one, but that doesn't make sense considering everything in the room is your size. Unless they started making giant-sized furniture and giant-sized motels, and I was never informed."

Dean smirks a little at that and gives a sigh of relief. "Sorry, but it's just good to have you back. Not that you weren't you, it's just… Well, it gets annoying listening to you yell at me to not step on cars or smash buildings."

Sam vaguely remembers seeing Dean's feet nearly crushing the Impala. "Dean? Did the Impala shrink, too?"

Dean wrinkles his brow and is almost afraid that Sam's falling back into his hallucination. "No. Why?"

Sam shakes his head. "I swear I remember your feet…" He looks over at his brother and stops, seeing that Dean's clearly upset. "Must have been another dream," he barely mutters.

Dean then walks over to the nightstand between the two beds, and sets his coffee down on the wooden table before sitting down across from his brother. "Sorry, but the only thing that's changed is…" Dean gestures to Sam, starting to feel guilty for how he treated Sam moments ago.

Sam nods again. "Right." Then he looks up at Dean who suddenly looks like he realized something.

"I'll be right back. I need to make a quick phone call." Dean puts his hands on his knees and pushes up, towering over Sam again.

Sam looks way up at his brother, almost feeling dizzy. "Who are you going to call?"

"Ghostbusters," Dean smirks, but sees that Sam is not amused with his joke. Dean scratches the back of his head. "I need to call up a friend. They've been worried about you."

Now even more confused by Dean's vague answer, Sam sighs as he watches his big brother head into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

In the bathroom Dean flips open his phone, dials a number and waits for somebody to pick up on the other end.

A groggy, male voice answers the phone. "Hey, Dean. It's kinda early, isn't it?"

"I know, but we need to talk," Dean responds in a soft voice, hoping Sam won't hear him. "It's Sam."

"Is something wrong?" the guy asks, now sounding worried and more alert.

"No. Well, I don't know." Dean glances at the door and moves further into the bathroom. "He woke up this morning and finally realized what happened to him."

"So, he doesn't think we're giants anymore? He knows he shrunk?"

"Exactly. But he doesn't remember anything. He doesn't remember how or when this happened. All he does remember is…"

"You growing into a giant," the other voice finishes with sympathy, knowing exactly how Dean felt.

"Yeah."

"Was it all just a hallucination then?" the guy wonders.

"Yeah. I think it was the effects of what caused the shrinking that might have done it. Either way, he's not seeing things anymore and got his memory back, finally." Even though he had been upset with Sam, he really was worried about him. He never understood why Sam thought he was a giant. At first he played along, thinking it was cute how Sam was telling him to be careful when he sat down on a chair. But once he knew that Sam was serious, that changed everything.

"So, he probably won't remember us, huh?"

"No. That's why I called. You can't come by our room today. I know Timmy and Shayla like having Sam around, but I don't think it's a good idea. I'm gonna let him get used to all of this first and fill him in on what happened."

"Everything?" Now the voice sounds surprised.

Dean lets out a long heavy sigh. "I know. It's going to take a while, but he needs to know what happened."

"Wait." The voice pauses. "Dean, does this mean what I think it means?" he now asks, sounding hopeful.

"Honestly? I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet, so be careful," Dean advises the young guy.

Back in the bedroom, Sam waits, walking over to the edge of the mattress. His bare little feet pad across the soft white folds of the blankets. It's on his way to there that he takes the time to notice that he's not in his usual night clothes, but instead a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. He's not wearing any shoes or socks either. When he looks at the nightstand he can see a tiny rumpled up shirt sitting next to what he believes are his boots and socks. They're just his size, too.

After another moment passes by he sees Dean walk back into the room, stuffing his cell phone in his jeans with a sigh. "Everything okay?" Sam asks as Dean walks back over to where he was sitting before.

Dean simply shrugs, reaching for his coffee. "Not sure yet."

"So, who were you on the phone with?"

"I told you. A friend." Dean answers, but Sam doesn't seem to want to accept that.

"Dean, I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know that, Sam. But if I give you the name, you still won't know who it is. Trust me." Dean drinks some more of his coffee and notices that Sam is still waiting for a better answer. "I promise I will explain everything to you. Besides, it's not like you tell me who you're on the phone with all the time."

Sam looks away as he starts to think back on his dream. Did Dean really know what he was doing with Ruby? "I'm sorry."

Dean clears his throat, not wanting to start up another fight so soon. Not that the first one counted, but he just didn't feel like going there just yet. "So… What do you remember?"

Sam decides to sit down, so he folds his long legs and looks up at his brother. He thinks back, trying to remember. "Um, we were in the car…"

"Seriously?" Sam just shrugs. "Dude, we're always in the car. Come on. You have to be a little more specific than that."

"You were listening Led Zeppelin," Sam offers, receiving a glare from Dean. "I'm sorry. I can't help it that you listen to them a lot." Dean still doesn't say anything, so Sam tries to remember more. "Polson, Montana," Sam suddenly remembers. "There was, uh, a missing person's case."

"And?" Dean urges him to continue.

"And?" Sam repeats. "And what? Did you forget, too, or something?"

"No, I want to know exactly what you do remember. The more you know, the less I have to explain." Dean leans forward, waiting for Sam to continue.

Sam thinks back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Polson, Montana. 7 days earlier.

"There's a what?" Dean asks, keeping his focus on the road.

"You would have heard me if you weren't listening to the radio so loud," Sam speaks up over the loud music.

Dean finally reaches for the dial and turns it down. "I heard what you said, but I'm still having a hard time understanding why this is our kind of gig."

"Since early December, five people have gone missing. They all were last seen walking through the same park. The authorities searched woods and didn't find anything." Sam looks at the article in his hands and shakes his head. "I don't know, Dean. There's something about this that doesn't feel right."

"You know, it could just be some sick, pervert, serial killer."

"Yeah, or it could be something else," Sam retorts back.

"What makes you think that it's 'something else'?" Dean glances at his brother for a second.

"For one, they didn't have anything in common. One was forty-six and another was eight. Men, women, and even children have gone missing. None of them lived on the same street, didn't go to any of the same schools or have any blood relation. One wasn't even from around here," Sam explains. "And Bobby did say that there were a lot of seals involving people going missing. It could be demonic possession or human sacrifices."

"So are there any signs or omens of demonic possession in Polson?"

"None that I could find, but that doesn't rule out sacrificing," Sam reminded his brother.

"Fine. We'll check around town," Dean caves, and warns his brother, "but if we come up empty, we're leaving to another town first thing in the morning, where there's going to be a real case. I'm not going to sit around and try to find something that isn't there while there are other people out there dying, and more seals are being broken."

"Fine," Sam agrees.

They drive into a motel parking lot and Dean books them a room for one night. Once they get in there room, Sam's already in the bathroom, putting on his suit and tie.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"That's it? That's all you remember?" Dean scrutinizes.

"No," Sam squirms, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Then what's wrong?"

Sam looks around the room and glances at Dean, quickly looking away. "I, uh… I need to use the rest room," Sam finally admits, feeling completely embarrassed.

"Oh, right." Dean looks at the clock radio. It had been over an hour since Sam woke up, yelling his name. "Sorry. Here." Dean leans forward, stretching his arm over to his brother, and holding his hand palm up for him.

Sam just stares at the giant hand. "What?"

"Climb on," Dean urges.

"Why?"

Dean sighs in frustration. "Just trust me. I know what I'm doing, alright? I've been taking care of you for the past week. Believe me; it's a lot faster than letting you walk." Seeing his brother still not move towards his hand, Dean decides on another method. "You know, Sam, I don't have to wait for you to climb on my hand. I could just pick you up King Kong style."

Sam hesitates before finally taking the first step onto Dean's palm. As his tiny foot touches the surface he can feel the little grooves and ridges under the soles of his feet. He walks across Dean's palm, staring at the massive fingers while he tries to keep his balance on the uneven surface. As he goes to sit down in the middle of Dean's palm, he feels something hard under his own hand and knows right away that it's one of the many bones in Dean's hand.

A few minutes later, after some explaining and arguing, Dean's sitting on the closed toilet, looking at the door as he waits for his brother to call his name from behind the closed shower curtain. He had to convince Sam that that was the only way he was going to get privacy. They had both agreed that the actual toilet was not even an option, so Sam decided that the shower was the best place. However, he was still uncomfortable since Dean refused to leave the bathroom in case Sam fell down the drain. Plus Dean knew that this way he would be able to hear Sam right away instead of just guessing when his brother was finished… And there was that one little incident that he purposely did not tell Sam.

After Sam was done washing his hands, Dean carefully carried him back into the bedroom. Sam was actually impressed that he didn't get motion sickness from being carried and noticed that Dean wasn't walking at his normal pace, but walking slower. As he sat in the palm of Dean's right hand, he was surrounded by the other, which was wrapped protectively around him like a shield and pressing him lightly against Dean's black t-shirt. He wondered how long it took before Dean adopted this method, or if he did it the entire time.

They reached the nightstand, where Sam put on his socks and buttoned up his plaid shirt. He didn't even bother putting on the shoes for now.

"So, it's been a week, huh?"

"Yep," Dean sits back on his bed, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"Did you do any research…?" Sam trails off immediately regretting the question when Dean glares at him.

"Are you kidding me? That's all I've been doing. While you were sitting there, yelling at me not to sit on the buildings and use them as chairs and tables, I was trying to focus on a way to turn you back," Dean snapped, letting his frustration out. It really had been annoying getting yelled at every day for the past week, while he was trying to help the person who was yelling at him. Dean then sees his brother look away, obviously feeling guilty, and Dean starts to feel bad himself. "Tell me what else you remember."


	2. Telling the Truth and Keeping Secrets

A/N: I'm so sorry this came out really late. I had not planned on waiting this long to get the chapter out, but March proved to be one of the worst months of my life. It took me a long time before I got motivated to write again. Oh, and don't forget that this story is an AU of the last three episodes of season 4. That's all. Hope you enjoy the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out sooner.

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Chapter 2: Telling the Truth and Keeping Secrets

Dean was getting frustrated with Sam, still not buying that the town had a supernatural problem, and the fact that the police already had a search out for murder suspect was not helping. Here they were at the fourth house, which would be their last since the last victim was visiting from Florida.

"Mrs. Duncan, can you tell us what happened the day your husband went missing?" Sam asked the middle aged, dark-haired woman sitting on the couch across from him.

Meanwhile, Dean was checking out the house, looking for anything that would explain why Gary Duncan disappeared three days ago. Dean was searching Gary's desk in his office for anything that would be helpful. There were all sorts of work related papers scattered everywhere. The top of the desk wasn't much help, so Dean moved on to the drawers. He pushed aside a calculator, some sticky notes, and empty envelopes. Finding nothing unusual or helpful, he closed the drawer and searched the next one underneath it. This drawer was filled with more papers and folders in a filing system. Dean breathed in a heavy sigh and began checking through the different folders.

After checking over half of the folders Dean came up with one word to describe this guy: Workaholic. But just when Dean thought he has this guy pegged as a man who loved work more than his wife, the next folder proved him wrong… Well, half wrong. Inside the folder there was a hotel reservation, a confirmation for a rental car, and a rather long hand written letter by a woman named Amy.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

"So then we went back to the motel, got changed and checked out the park," Sam finishes. He looks up at Dean who was just sitting there with his arms folded, looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"That's it? That's all you remember?"

"No..."

"Then spill it out already," Dean snaps. "Come on, why'd you stop?"

Ignoring his brother's question, Sam looks at Dean confused, seeing the irritation in his brother's eyes. "Why are you mad at me? I'm telling you what you wanted to know."

"Yeah, but you keep stopping. Sam, this is important. I NEED to know what you remember, and the more you keep stopping, the more you're wasting my time to get you back to normal," Dean tells him very sternly. "So, unless you had something else to tell me that is more important, I'd prefer it if you would continue on with the story."

Dean watches as Sam looks down at the wooden table-top of the nightstand and sighs. His tiny brother walks over to the clock radio and hops up on top to have a seat. "Fine," he hears Sam mumble before he continues on with the story.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

The sun was low in the sky, shining through the tree branches of the park. Walking next to his brother along the hiking trail, Sam kept glancing in the woods for anything out of the ordinary. As they walk, the sound of their boots stepping on loose pebbles and the muffled clanking of their weapons in Dean's duffle bag are the only noises they hear for quite a while. After walking up another hill and turning another corner, they finally heard something else. Or rather, someone else. The voices get closer as they made out two teens walking along the same path.

"Where is he?" the girl complained as she kept looking around the trees and bushes. "I swear he does this on purpose."

"He's just a kid, leave him alone," the guy told her in a rather calm manner.

"He ran after a rabbit! He could get lost in these woods. It'll take us forever to find him."

The guy looked at the blond suspiciously. "Do you have a date tonight or something? Is that what this is all about?"

Now the girl stopped and turned towards the slightly taller guy. "I promised I wouldn't be late. So sue me for trying to be a good girlfriend."

"Yeah, well, you're failing as a sister." The guy pushed passed her, continuing his search for his brother.

"Sorry," the girl muttered, catching up with her brother. "It's just Bret said he had something important he wanted to tell me."

"Shay," he groaned. "Why are you still going out with him? I thought you said he was a jerk?"

"He made up for it," she shrugged.

Her brother stopped walking and gaped at his sister. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that."

"Oh, come on, Ryan. Give me a break. I'm not a kid anymore, you know?"

"No. But you are still my little sister. And technically, being only fifteen does make you a kid by legal standards." Ryan shook his head and looked back around the woods, but something up ahead in the path caught his eye. "Hey," he nudged his sister. "Maybe they can help."

Sam and Dean watched as the teens jogged up to them.

"Excuse me," the guy said as he approached them. "Have you seen a boy anywhere? He's about this tall," he motioned, holding his hand up to his chin. "He has brown hair, answers to the name of Timmy."

"He's a boy, not a dog," the girl said as she finally reached her brother's side.

The kid glared at his sister.

"Uh, no, sorry. But we can help you look for him," Sam offered.

"That'd be great." He smiled with relief. "Oh, um, I'm Ryan."

"Shayla," the girl added, giving a small wave.

"Hi. I'm Sam. And this is my brother, Dean," Sam said as Dean smiled back in return.

"So, where did you lose him?" Dean asked Ryan since he seemed to be the one in charge of their little search.

"By the lake, but he ran deep into the woods. He was chasing some rabbit he saw," Ryan explained.

"And now he's lost and I'm going to be late for my date," Shayla murmured, looking into the woods.

"Alright, well, I think it'll be best if we split up. I'll go with Ryan, Sam you can go with Shayla," Dean nodded for Sam to go with the girl and received an eye roll from Sam.

Sam knew perfectly well that Dean didn't feel like going with the girl who seemed to have a bit of an attitude.

Ryan nodded in agreement. "Okay. Shay, your phone is still charged, right?"

"Yes. I always make sure it is before I leave the house." She folded her arms in annoyance. Now Sam really wished he could go with Ryan.

"I was just making sure," Ryan explained in that same calm manner as before.

Then the two pairs split up down different paths of the trail, both leading up to the lake. Sam walked in silence for a while before he decided to break the ice with some light conversation. "So, how old is Timmy?"

"Seven."

"Does he always run off like this?" Sam tried to get the conversation to go somewhere.

"Sometimes," she shrugged. "He has a very active imagination. He'll probably still act like a kid when he's fifty."

Sam smiled. "Sounds like he's quite the handful. "

"You have no idea. But, to be honest, I would rather put up with Timmy than Ryan any day of the week."

Sam frowned and glanced at Shayla. "Why's that?"

"He's so bossy. He's always telling me what to do, acting like he's my parent, as if I don't know right from wrong. It's so annoying!" She then looked at Sam. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be looked down on by your brother?"

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "You have no idea." Before Shayla could respond, Sam spotted something in the woods. "Hey, you see that?"

Shayla squinted her eyes a little and then relaxed. "Finally."

"That's him I take it?" Sam guessed as they start heading off of the trail towards the little boy.

"Yep. That's the kid who is going to get grounded for the rest of the month."

As Sam and Shayla finally reach the boy, he turned around and put his finger over his mouth to get them to be quiet. "The rabbit's hiding in there," he said, pointing to a hole in the ground near a bush.

"So? Come on. It's getting darker out, and we need to go home," Shayla told the little boy, holding out her hand.

Sam was already on the phone with his brother, letting him know that they found Timmy. When Dean asked for their location, Sam looked over the edge of the hill they were standing on to see if he could spot his brother. The drop off was pretty steep, and he could see a pond at the bottom of the hill. Sam walked back over to the kids and described the area they were in. He told his brother how far they had walked down the trail to give him a good idea of their location.

While Sam had been on the phone the argument between Shayla and Timmy only got worse.

"Timmy, come on. Let's go," Shayla urged her brother.

"No! You can't tell me what to do! You're not Mom!"

That just made Shayla even angrier. "I know," she seethed. "But I am your SISTER, and I am OLDER, and you WILL do what I say!"

"Make me." Timmy grinned a little bratty face at his sister and turned to run away from her.

"Timmy, get back here," she yelled, chasing after him right as Sam hung up his cell phone.

Seeing the two kids take off towards the small cliff, Sam spotted the sudden danger and charged after them, dropping his cell phone in the process. "HEY!" Sam caught up with the kids, but it was too late. Timmy went tumbling down first, followed by Sam who had wrapped his arms around Shayla to try and stop her from going over, only to fall down with her. All three of them roll down the incline, hitting a small rock here and there, getting scratched by broken branches, and getting covered in dirt. They all finally landed with a loud splash inside the pond at the bottom of the hill. Despite the pond being only a few feet deep, they all gasped for air after spitting water out of their mouths.

"Gross. Now I smell like fish," Shayla complained as she wiped mud off her arms.

"That shouldn't be any different from how you normally smell."

Shayla glared at Timmy, who stuck his tongue out at her again.

_Yep, Dean definitely got off easy this time around_, Sam thought as he crawled out of the pond covered in a mixture of mud and blood. He turned around and helped Timmy out of the mess as Shayla made her way out on her own.

"SAM," a voice rang out in the distance.

"Down here!" Sam called up to the top of the hill. A few seconds later he saw his brother with Ryan at his side, standing at the top of the hill.

"Hang on. We'll be down in a minute." Dean looked around, spotted a location not as steep a little further away from them and tugged on Ryan's arm to follow him.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked Timmy as he looks him over. The kid had a small cut on his lip, but other than that he seemed to be fine.

"I'm okay," Timmy said, and then looked up at the top of the hill. His eyes went wide when he realized how far they fallen and he looked at Sam. "That was AWESOME! Can we do it again?" Timmy full-on grinned, only to get hit in the side of the head with a splat of mud. "Hey!"

"Forget it," Shayla told him before looking at her left arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sam asked, noticing the blood trickling from her nose and the way she cradled her arm.

Shayla shook her head. "I don't know. I think I sprained it." She let out a hiss when she cautiously felt around for any damage.

"Let me take a look." Sam crawled over to her side and noticed that Shayla was staring at his forehead. "What?"

"That's bleeding pretty badly." Shayla pointed to Sam's head.

Sam reached up and felt water on his forehead, but when he brought his hand down to look at it he realized it was blood. "Great," Sam groaned. A twig snapping caught his attention. He looked up and saw his brother making his way over to them.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

"You took us to the hospital and then we went back to the motel after that," Sam explains.

Dean nods and then looks at his brother. His face is still tense. "Is that all?"

"Yes. That is all I can remember."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Dean nods once and looks at the blank TV in front of him, but doesn't do or say anything.

"So, shouldn't you be doing something?" Sam asks, waiting for his brother to get up and go over to the laptop or get on the phone with Bobby.

Dean turns his head and glares down at his little brother. "I've been doing something for the past seven days. I know how to do my job, Sam!"

Sam looks confused for a moment and realizes that Dean didn't get it. So he sighs and explains, "I know you do. I just meant, you wanted me to hurry up and tell you everything. So, I did."

Now Dean sighs and looks away. "Sorry. It's just been a long week, and the sooner we figure this thing out, the better." Dean waits for Sam to say something or start arguing, but all he gets in response is silence. He turns his attention back to his tiny brother and sees that Sam's holding a hand to his forehead with his head down. "Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sam mutters.

"Sammy?"

"It's nothing."

Dean unfolds his arms and leans forward to get a better look at his brother. "Are you sure? Is your head okay?"

"Dean-"

"Sam."

Sam finally drops his hand and looks up at his brother. "I'm a little light-headed."

"From the height?" Dean guesses, glancing down to the floor from Sam's perch.

"No. I'm just hungry, that's all," Sam explains, only to hear Dean curse under his breath. "What?"

"I should have known you would be hungry when you woke up this morning. You didn't eat anything last night because you weren't feeling well." Now Dean knows why Sam kept breaking in the middle of the story. The little guy wanted to ask for food, but Dean kept pushing to talk instead. _Way to go, genius._ Dean mentally kicks himself. _Not like you've been taking care of him for the past week and know that he can't eat on his own. No wonder he's lying to you all the time. He can't depend on you._

Dean stands up and makes a beeline for the kitchenette in the room. A moment later he returns to the nightstand with a bottle cap filled with coffee. "Here. Drink that. I'll see what I can do about getting you something to eat."

"Uh, thanks," Sam says as he's not really sure how to hold the plastic bottle cap.

"You're going to need two hands for that," Dean says as he digs through the fridge for something his brother can eat, but the fridge is filled with leftover take-out food from the night before and some pizza. Dean decides to try the vending machine at the end of the hallway instead. "I'll be right back," he tells his brother as he grabs his wallet from his duffle bag. "Hide if somebody tries to break in," he orders Sam right before leaving the room.

Sam stops drinking, suddenly aware of how helpless he would be if a demon came after them. Not even his "mojo", as Dean called it, could help him now.

Dean had walked down the hallway and was already standing in front of the vending machine. He holds the dollar bill in his hands as he stares at the granola bar that he plans on buying for Sam, as he gets a sense of déjà vu. Dean tries to forget about it and push the memory aside, but as he finally let the machine take his dollar his mind gets the best of him.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

Two days ago…

After eight hours of doing nothing but research and making phone calls, Dean decided to take a break and get a late-night snack. He glanced over at Sam, who was sleeping on his pillow. Normally, he would have taken the little guy with him, for fear of something happening to him while Sam was alone. But Dean figured a few minutes alone wouldn't hurt Sam. And it's not like he was going that far anyways.

So, Dean left the room and bought himself a sufficient amount of candy that would keep him awake for the rest of the night. As he was walked back to their room, he already had a candy bar ripped open and was chewing on the chocolatey goodness. He grinned in self-satisfaction. This little pick-me-up was exactly what he needed.

Once he approached their door, he pulled out his key. But as he did, he heard the faint sound of his brother talking to somebody. It sounded like he was on the phone, but Dean could barely understand him, so he slowly opened the door. Now he could hear his brother much better.

"Where the hell are you, Ruby? This isn't funny anymore." Sam swallowed hard, his voice is shaky as he tried to keep his composure. "I'm all out. Stop whatever you are doing. Call me. I need more."

_He needs more of what?_ Dean wonders. _What's that demon bitch giving him?_ Dean watched as Sam pressed on the button to end the all, and decided to make his presence known. With a light shove, he closed the door with a thud, startling his tiny brother.

"Something wrong?" Dean asked as he walked over to the nightstand, taking another bite of his candy bar.

Sam quickly shook his head. "Nothing. I just didn't know where you were, so I was going to call you."

"Why? Did you need something?" Dean asked after swallowing. He knew that Sam wouldn't tell him what he wanted from Ruby, but that didn't keep Dean from asking.

"No," Sam shook his head. "I was just curious where you went."

Dean studied him for a minute after he heard Sam lie straight to his face. He finally held up his candy bars and explained, "I got a snack."

"From where? Dean, you shouldn't be running around. What if somebody sees you?"

Dean sighed. He was too tired to tell Sam the truth for the hundredth time that week, so he played along. "Nobody saw me, Sam. I was careful. I hid behind some… buildings." Dean walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a beer from the fridge. _So, this is how it's going to be from now on?_ Dean wondered. _Sam lying and I pretend to be a giant?_ After using his ring to pop open the bottle cap, Dean took a big gulp of the refreshing beverage. _Great._

Then again if Sam was going to insist on lying to him, maybe Dean shouldn't find a way to fix his brother. At least when Sam's tiny, Dean could keep an eye on him and make sure Ruby didn't get anywhere near Sam.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

Dean watches as the granola bar falls down, and then he slams his hand hard into the machine, causing a loose chocolate bar to also fall. _She's leading you on, Sammy. I told you never to trust a demon, and you did. Now look at the mess you've gotten yourself into. All because she manipulated you into thinking she could help you._

Dean stands there a moment longer, with his hand still on the plastic wall, leaning against the vending machine and staring at the floor. He takes a few deep breaths through his nose, and finally reaches down to snag his food.

When Dean comes back into the room, a little over half of Sam's coffee is gone. The coffee helped with his hunger, but his stomach was aching for some solid food. So he was more than happy to see Dean walk in with what looks like a granola bar.

As Dean walks over to Sam, he rips the plastic wrapper open and picks a small chunk off of the bar. He hands it over to Sam, who starts eating it right away. "Thanks," he says in between bites.

"Don't mention it," Dean says, waving it off. He picks up his own coffee mug from the nightstand and walks over to the coffee pot to get a refill.

Sam had been hoping that when Dean came back he would explain how Sam had shrunk. But at the moment it looks like he wasn't going to get an answer just yet.

They both sat in silence, drinking down their coffee, when Dean's cell phone began to ring. He crosses the room over to the table, where he left his phone. After picking up his cell phone, Dean flips it open and holds it up to his ear. "Ryan? What's going on?" Dean pauses, listening to the frantic guy on the other end of the line.

Sam watches in silence as Dean's face falls into one of worry.

"Well, how's Timmy doing?" There's another, shorter pause this time. "Sounds about right," Dean mumbles. "Well, can he help her out at all?" Now he nods in understanding at whatever he's hearing and sighs. "Of course not." Then he looks at Sam. "I've got an idea."

Sam can only stare in question at what Dean has to say next.

"Sam and I will be over in a little bit." Dean closes his phone and walks over to Sam.

"What's going on?"

"I need your help. You know those kids we helped out? Shayla and Ryan?"

"Yeah, what about them?" Sam asks as he set his coffee down and wipes his hands clean of any crumbs.

"I hate to jump ahead of the story here, but, like you, Shayla shrunk and just realized what's going on, and now she's freaking out."

Sam can only imagine what's running through the poor girl's mind. "So, what do you want me to do?"

Dean starts to walk away, looking for his jacket and keys. "Well, her brother, Ryan-"

"The one you were on the phone with," Sam guesses and Dean nods his head.

"Right. Well, Ryan said that after he came out of the bathroom she was gone. Turns out their other brother, Timmy, saw her run under one of the beds. Now she won't come out and so far she hasn't said anything." Dean finds his jacket with the Impala's keys in one of the pockets.

"Wait. Why didn't Timmy stop her?"

"He shrunk too, but apparently he's having too much fun jumping on the pillows…" Dean shakes his head and mutters something about how easy it is to get someone so small hyped up on sugar without even trying.

"So you want me to try and talk to her?"

"Exactly." After he puts on his coat, Dean looks at Sam. "So, you don't remember hanging out with them?"

"Sort of," Sam shrugs. "All of the memories from this week are a little fuzzy. I mean, I remember you being a giant and everything seemed normal to me, but other than that nothing really sticks out."

"Huh." Dean studies him for a minute and can clearly tell that Sam is telling the truth. "Alright, why don't you put on your boots, so we can get going?"

As Sam finishes up tying his boots, he looks around confused. "Where's my jacket?"

"You mean that one?" Dean asks, pointing to Sam's tan jacket, which is slung over the back of one of the chairs.

Sam's shoulders slump down. "Yeah, that one."

"You won't need it anyways," Dean states as he walks over to Sam again."Trust me, you'll be warm enough."

"Huh? Why?"

Dean pats his breast pocket, giving Sam a little smirk.

8


	3. An Alien World and How Sam Got There

A/N: I'm sorry for the delay again. And, just so everyone knows, I will not abandon this story. I have it all planned out. Also, I would like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing and whatnot. I really appreciate it. :)

* * *

Chapter 3: An Alien World and How Sam Got There

As he drives down the road, Dean just listens to the Impala's engine rumble. He had decided that it would be best not to have any music playing in case Sam needed to talk to him. So, here he sits in silence, feeling his little brother squirm around in his pocket. He had noticed the squirming had increased ever since he got in the car.

Dean rests his elbow up on the window ledge and rubs his head. "Sam, what are you doing in there? Do you have ants in your pants? Or maybe fleas would be more suitable for your size," Dean mutters, glancing down at his pocket.

"I can't get comfortable," Sam replies with a slight squirm.

Dean rolls his eyes and looks out the window for a second before looking back at the road ahead. "Really? I didn't notice." Dean sighs and decides to flip open the lip of his pocket. "What's wrong?" he asks, looking down at his brother.

"The seam is digging into my back… and other places," Sam adds, shifting his weight closer to Dean. "And there's lint getting in my hair… And it's stuffy in here."

"Hey, I told you that you would be warm," Dean reminds him of what he said before they left the motel room.

"Yeah, but you didn't say it would be hard to breathe," Sam complains and secretly hopes that Dean doesn't close the pocket any time soon.

"Fine." Dean grabs the wheel with his other hand and fishes his brother out of his pocket with the other. Barely looking at his brother, Dean gently carries him over to the passenger side of the bench and sets Sam down. "Better?" Dean asks, glancing down at him, but Sam just stares.

The all too familiar surroundings seems alien to him now. Sam had practically grown up in this car and yet he feels lost just sitting there, looking up at the enormous dashboard and wide windows. The door handle that once disappeared in his grasp is far too out of his reach and not even small enough for him to hold with one hand. In fact, he doubts he could even move it with two hands if he was given the opportunity.

"Sam?"

He turns around and looks way up at his brother. Again, the setting was familiar, but now it was totally different. He was used to looking Dean in the eye when they sat in the car, but now Sam was craning his neck back just to look at him.

"Is that better," Dean repeats. He can tell that Sam is taking everything in, but he still wants to make sure that Sam's comfortable.

"Yeah," is all that Sam says as he stares at his larger-than-life brother. Everything about Dean was huge. His fingers were about as long as he was tall. _More like small_, Sam thinks as he looks at how thick Dean's arms are now, and how wide his torso is. Even if Dean was a giant, he would have a hard time hiding behind buildings, because his body was so big.

Sam slumps back against the old leather seat in one of the grooves, and stares straight ahead, but there's nothing there. He's too small to even look out the windshield. All he can look at is the glove box with Impala spelled out in fancy metallic, silver cursive embedded into the tan dashboard. And, he has to lean back to even look up at that.

As Sam looks at the tape deck and radio, he notices the car slow down after making a left turn. The slight incline tells him that they pulled in to some driveway.

"Alright," Dean says as he turns off the engine and stuffs the keys into his pants pocket. "I know you don't like being in my pocket, but I can't risk somebody walking by and seeing you in my hand." Dean holds out his hand, laying it down on the seat next to his brother, who climbs on without arguing.

After he slips out of Dean's hand and into the dark and stuffy pocket again, Sam listens as he hears his brother's boots thump across the pavement and onto what Sam believes are wooden panels of a porch. Next he hears his brother knock three times on a wooden door, and it doesn't take long before he hears the lock click and the door creak open.

"Thank you so much for coming over, man. You have no idea how much I appreciate this," Sam hears a young male voice say.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Dean assures the kid. "Where did you say she was?"

After the sound of the door clicking closed, Sam feels movement and hears Dean thump across a hardwood floor. He can tell his brother is following the kid.

"Well, she was in my room, but Timmy said he saw her run into her bedroom."

Dean follows Ryan up a set of stairs. "What if she's not there anymore?"

"I left Timmy in there to keep an eye on her. So, if she did leave, he'll let us know." At the top of the stairs, Ryan takes a left turn and walks over to the door at the other end of the floor. "Besides, I doubt she'll leave her room. She's always felt safest in there."

Dean nods, understanding what it's like to know everything about your younger sibling. _At least, I used to,_ he thinks as he glances down at his pocket.

Inside the pocket, Sam feels a pang of guilt. He knows that Dean can relate to the kid, and he knows that Dean knows Sam is keeping something from him. But, at the same time, he knows that Dean wouldn't understand what he's doing with Ruby, so he pushes the feeling aside… for now.

Ryan opens the door and Dean follows him inside the room. There's a bed up against the far corner of the room, right next to a dresser. There's a dresser on the opposite wall holding a TV set with some book shelves hanging over it, and a computer desk next to the door. Upon entering the room, they both automatically watch where they are stepping, something they've both become accustomed to over the past week.

"So, where's Timmy?" Dean asks as he walks up to Ryan. But, before the kid could respond, Dean hears a tiny and excited voice come from behind him.

"Dean! Behind you!"

When Dean turns around he sees the very tiny boy jumping up and down on top of the TV, waving his arms to get Dean's attention.

"Hey, Timmy," Dean gives a little wave before he quickly looks at Ryan. "How much sugar did you give him?"

"I swear I didn't give him anything. Apparently, he thinks that this is the coolest thing in the world."

Dean turns back to the tiny kid, who just grins up at him. "Isn't this awesome?! It's like I'm a superhero! Like Mighty Mouse! Only cooler, because I don't have to wear tights! I can totally win at hide and seek now! AND, I don't have to go to school!"

And now Dean understands why the boy is so excited. Dean gives the little boy a smile. "Yeah, that's great, Timmy. But you better be careful. I don't want you to accidentally…" Dean trails off remembering there's a scared, tiny girl hiding somewhere in the room, and suddenly decides against saying the words out loud. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dean!"

"Good." Dean turns around already feeling worn out from listening to the little ball of energy.

"Hey, Timmy," Ryan crouches down in front of his little brother. "Is Shay still under her bed?"

"As far as I know she still is," he says with a shrug.

Ryan frowns. "What does that mean? I thought you were going to watch her?"

Now, Dean's looking around the floor, worried that he might accidentally step on the tiny girl.

"I was! But, she could have ran under her dresser, too," Timmy argues in his defense, pointing out that the dresser was right up against the side of the bed.

"So, you haven't actually seen her leave is what you're saying, right?" Dean asks.

"Exactly. See? Dean gets me."

"Yeah, once he actually understood what you were saying." Ryan rubs his finger in his brother's hair, messing up the mop on his head.

"Hey!" Timmy complains as he tries to swat his brother's giant finger away.

At that moment, Dean decides it is time to get his brother. He slips his hand inside his pocket and carefully grips his brother, slowly pulling him out of the fabric. As soon as he places Sam in his palm, Dean notices his brother sighing in relief.

"Oh, come on. You weren't even in there that long!"

Sam looks up at Dean and scoffs. "Like you would understand what it's like to be stuffed in a pocket." But Dean says nothing in response. Sam was so used to his brother's silence ever since Dean came back from Hell that he just got used to ignoring it altogether. But now that Dean was a giant in comparison and Sam was completely dependent on him now, the silence seemed to weigh down on Sam. As Sam looks up at his big brother, he could have sworn that he saw a flash of hurt in Dean's eyes. _Has he felt like this before and I've never noticed? _Sam wondered. All he said was that Dean wouldn't understand how Sam was feeling. _That couldn't have been it… Could it?_

Dean bites his tongue at his brother's remark. He wants to tell Sam what he really thinks, but Dean knows that starting a fight now would be a bad idea. After all, they had a job to do at the moment and Dean didn't want to scare the tiny siblings. Besides, he never really liked yelling at Sam, he just used it as a last resort. And, if Sam just TOLD him what was going on instead of lying or thinking Dean wouldn't 'understand' him, then Dean wouldn't HAVE to yell at Sam.

Both brothers keep quiet as Dean carefully sets Sam down next to the bed. Dean watches as Sam disappears underneath the frame.

Before he gets any further in, Sam asks Dean for some light. Dean brings out his flashlight and shines it down the end of the bed, where Sam spots the girl huddled up against the wall, directly in the middle of the two legs of the bed. As he walks towards the girl, he notices the cobwebs hanging above his head. He thought for sure one would get caught in his hair like it did when he walked through an old doorway in an abandoned house. But he wasn't tall enough to even reach up and touch them. Sam slowly approaches the girl, glancing up at the 'ceiling' every now and then, disturbed by the fact that his head doesn't even come close to touching the metal frame of a bed.

"Shayla?" Sam asks gently. He remembers the girl better than he thought, and not just from their encounter in the park. Vague images flash in his mind of him spending time with both Shayla and Timmy, but they feel more like dreams than actual memories. He can't even remember having a conversation with her besides the day at the park.

Sam walks up to the tense girl and his confusion about what just happened with his brother buries itself in the back of his mind. Right now his instincts tell him to help the girl and keep her calm. "Listen, I know you're scared right now, but you're going to be okay. They're not going to hurt you. Dean and your brother are just trying to help."

"No," she shakes her head and closes her eyes. "This isn't right. They grew. I SAW him grow!" Shayla pauses. "At least I think I did… No, I did… Didn't I? Why can't I remember?"

Sam finally decides to sit down next to her. As he sits he looks at Dean and motions for his brother to give them some privacy. Sam sees his brother place the flashlight on the floor before Dean stands up, out of view. "I'm sorry. I wish I knew what was going on, but the truth is, I don't even remember how I got like this," Sam admits. "I woke up this morning thinking I did, but once Dean told me what happened, I just…"

"Forgot?" she guesses.

"The same thing happened to you, didn't it?" he asks and she nods.

"So, now what? We're stuck like this?" she says breaking into tears.

"No," Sam lies, not knowing if what he was saying was actually true, but he was going to do whatever it took to get this girl to come out from hiding. "Dean remembers what actually happened to us. He can help. He's going to find a way to fix us. All of us."

"But it's been a week, Sam. Don't you think if there was a cure that they would have found it by now?"

Sam doesn't know what to say, because deep down he was wondering the exact same thing himself. And Shayla doesn't fail to notice the look on his face.

"Oh, god. We really are stuck like this." Shayla sinks further down against the wall and whimpers. "Oh, no. I can't live like this. I can't."

"Well," Sam begins as he thinks it over. "You can't live under a bed. You are right about that." Sam smiles a little to try and lighten the mood, but Shayla only shakes her head in response.

"What? You want me to go out there?" She shakes her head again as Sam nods. "No. Uh-uh. No way."

"Dean's not going to hurt you, I prom-"

"It's not your brother I'm worried about," Shayla interrupts him, staring at the end of her bed.

"Who-? Ryan?" Sam glances at the socked feet standing near the far end of the bed. "Why would he hurt you? Right now he's worried about you."

"Sure. Now he is. But he won't once he knows the truth."

Sam pauses. "The truth about what?"

"I… I can't say." She shifts fidgets her hands nervously. "No. He can't know what I did or what I've been doing. He'll squash me like a bug."

"Shayla, I'm sure whatever it is he'll forgive you." Again, he doesn't know if it's true, but he really wants to get her out of there so he can go back to the motel and learn more about what happened from Dean.

But the young girl scoffs at him. "Let me guess," she says turning to Sam. "You get along with your brother? Have a close relationship where you tell each other everything?"

Sam swallows, looking down at his hands, and thinks, _we used to_.

His inner voice fights back, _and whose fault is that?_ Because, Sam knows that his brother only lied to him about not remembering what happened to Dean in Hell. And, that was nothing compared to what Sam was keeping from Dean.

"Well, my brother and I, we don't get along." Shayla proceeds to explain, "He's popular, I'm not. We hang out with two different sets of crowds. He's always been the good son. Perfect grades, perfect girlfriend, perfect everything. And he's never been in trouble. Not once. You just don't understand what it's like. If he finds out what I've been doing, he _will_ kill me."

"Shayla, he may not be your best friend, but your brother isn't going to kill you. He's your family."

"I'd rather stay under here for the rest of my life than face him and find out if you're right."

Sam sighs and leans back against the wall. _It's going to be a long day._

Standing at the end of the bed, Dean waits for his brother to come out. He sighs and glances at his watch. _Come on, Sam. What's taking so long_, he wonders.

"She always was stubborn."

Dean looks down to his left at little Timmy, who was sitting on a stack of CDs looking surprisingly bored for a change. "Hey, what happened to Mighty Mouse?"

"He got bored," Timmy groans, resting his head in his hands.

Ryan chuckles to himself. "That's new."

"Shayla's room is so boring," Timmy whines. "Can I go to my room?"

"No," Dean and Ryan both say in unison. They had learned their lesson on day one when Ryan let Timmy into his room, while Ryan talked things over with Dean. But, Ryan didn't realize just how messy his brother's room was at the time. It took Dean and Ryan three hours to find Timmy passed out next to his secret candy stash, covered in chocolate. When the kid woke up he said he thought he was in a chocolate factory, which is what he believed his giant brother and Dean used as shelter. So, now that they were in Shayla's room, everyone was pleased to find out that it was much more organized than Timmy's.

Ryan looks around Shayla's room for something to keep his brother occupied. He sighs when he doesn't see anything besides a few books here and there, and some candles. "Can't you just wait a few more minutes?"

"Ugh. A few minutes to Shayla is like half an hour!"

Dean smirks and looks down at the kid. As Timmy plops backwards onto the CDs he was sitting on, Dean gets an idea. "Hey, Timmy, could you get down from there for a second?"

The tiny kid doesn't say anything, but he climbs down anyway. He backs away as Dean's big hands come down, picking up some of the albums and start setting them on their sides, arranging them at different angles. Timmy can't see the rest of what Dean was doing, because Dean had placed two albums next to each other, making a wall in front of Timmy. The tops of the CDs were a few feet above his head, so he can't even look over them to get a peek at what Dean was doing. From his spot all Timmy could see were the shadows of Dean's hands and arms. Timmy turns around and looks up at his brother, who is now smiling and pointing at something.

"Hey, what if you put one there?"

Dean smiles at Ryan's suggestion and makes a few adjustments before Dean stops to look everything over. He nods in satisfaction and then grins down at Timmy.

"What?" the tiny boy asks suspiciously and backs away when Dean goes to grab him. He turns around to run, but he ends up hitting a wall of flesh that easily wraps around his body. His world goes dark as he feels himself being lifted into the air. "Hey!" he shouts, pounding on the flesh. He's quickly set down in front of a different set of CDs that make an opening. "What is this?" He looks up at Dean.

"Why don't you tell us? We can't fit in there." Dean nods towards the opening, lightly nudging Timmy in the back with his knuckle.

Timmy walks in without saying anything else, and Dean and Ryan sigh with relief.

"That should keep him occupied for a while," Dean says as he looks over the impromptu maze that covers the entire dresser.

Ryan chuckles as he, too, looks at the maze, "I hope you are right about that."

At that moment, Dean spots Sam on the floor, waving his arms to get Dean's attention. Dean walks over at once, crouching down in front of his brother. Dean spots Shayla walk up behind Sam.

As soon as Dean had walked over to the bed, Ryan immediately followed him. He stands behind Dean, hunching over to get a better look at the two people on the floor.

Dean holds his hand out for the two, and Sam walks on first. Sam notices Shayla's reluctance and reassures her that it'll be okay. She finally climbs on and sits down next to Sam, and once she feels the hand rise into the air she turns to Sam and closes her eyes.

Sam looks up at Dean, ready to tell him to slow down or stop, but he sees Dean's other hand come down on top of them, creating a little cave of flesh.

"I'm going to take these two to the dollhouse," Dean tells Ryan. "Do you want to wait for the kid?"

Ryan looks at the maze and at his brother's progress. He knows Timmy isn't even close to figuring out how to get out of there, so he shakes his head. "Nah, he'll be fine." But, before he follows Dean out of the room, he makes sure that there isn't any possible way for his brother to get off of the dresser. "Timmy, I'll be back in five minutes to check on you, okay?"

Timmy nods and stops when he comes to a fork in his path. He looks to the right, and then to the left, and then back to the right again. He folds his arms and holds his chin. A grin appears on his face and goes left for about two albums, before he wheels around and goes down the other path instead.

Up above Timmy, his older brother laughs and shakes his head before leaving the room.

Dean had walked across the hallway and was now in Ryan's bedroom, where an old dollhouse was sitting in the middle of the floor. Ryan had dug the old toy out of the basement and placed it in his room, figuring it would be safe place to keep his brother and sister. It definitely made it easier for him to watch them at night.

Dean gets down on one knee, carefully lowering his hands inside of the house, where he finally opens them up. Shayla gets off first, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I really hate heights," she mumbles, and Sam now understands why her eyes were closed.

Sam's about to climb off, but Dean stops him and lifts him up instead.

"We need to talk to about something," is all Dean says before he places Sam in his pocket again without waiting for a response.

Dean walks towards the stairs, passing Ryan on the way there. "I'm going to tell him what happened. I think you should do the same with Shayla."

Ryan nods and heads off to his room, as Dean goes downstairs and into the kitchen. Once he's there, he walks straight to the table and fishes his brother out of his pocket. Again, Dean carefully lowers his brother down to the wooden table top and waits for Sam to climb off of his before Dean takes a seat.

"So," Sam starts, knowing what Dean was going tell him. "What really happened?"

Dean keeps quiet for a minute, gathering his thoughts. He finally looks at his brother. "After we went to the hospital, you and I went back to the motel," Dean explains. "You were already dry by then, so you were going to wait to take a shower in the morning. You ended up going to get us something to eat from that dinner in town."

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

Dean was watching the local news, looking for something helpful on their hunt when he heard the Impala pull up. He turned the TV off, hearing the door of his car creak closed. The motel door opened and Sam walked inside, carrying a plastic bag in his hand.

"Did you ask for extra bacon?" Dean asked, snatching the bag from his brother's grasp and peered inside.

"Yeah, and some old lady behind me warned me that I was going to have a heart attack if I keep eating like that."

Dean unwrapped his burger, checked for the bacon and grinned before he looked up at his little brother. "You know, you really should watch what you eat, Sam."

Sam shook his head and pulled his sandwich out of the bag. "Did you get the drinks?" When Dean didn't respond right away, Sam looked up and saw his brother's mouth was already full.

Dean swallowed and walked over to the kitchenette. He grabbed two beers from the fridge and walked back over to the table, handing one over to Sam.

After he untwisted the cap, Sam took a big gulp of his drink. He set the bottle down on the table, fished Dean's keys out of his pocket, and set them down on the table. He was about to grab for his sandwich when he started to feel a little dizzy.

Seeing his brother sway and hold a hand onto the table for support, Dean asked him what was wrong. Sam just shook his head, causing him to hold it with both hands. "Don't tell me you're drunk already. You just had one sip! That's hardly enough to give you a buzz!" When his brother didn't say anything back, Dean got worried. Dean set his burger down and was about to go to Sam's side when it happened. His little brother was rapidly getting shorter. _No, not shorter,_ Dean thought. _He's getting smaller_. In no time, Sam was up to Dean's shoulders, and then mid chest. Pretty soon, Sam was as tall as the table and he wasn't slowing down.

Sam looked up at Dean, confused and looking just as worried as Dean was. The nausea caught up with him, and he had to close his eyes again. "Sam?" he heard his brother's alarmed voice come from above him, sounding slightly louder than normal.

Dean quickly got down on his knees and stared at his brother in horror as he helplessly watched Sam shrink down. By now, Sam had sunk below the seat of the chairs and soon reached the one foot mark, and he _still_ wasn't slowing down. Dean was worried that it wouldn't stop and his brother would disappear altogether, but then it suddenly stopped.

Dean swallowed hard as he looked at Sam. For the first time since they were in high school, Dean was looking down at his brother. But, instead of being a foot or so shorter than him, Sam wasn't even a foot tall. In fact, Dean figured Sam must have been about three or four inches tall now.

"Son of a bitch," Dean whispered.


	4. Big Brothers and Their Little Siblings

A/N: Sorry for the delay... again. I have no excuse. But, I did work on it a lot and plotted out the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. :)

* * *

Chapter 4: Big Brothers and Their Little Siblings

"So, the beer did this to me?" Sam asks. Right now he's sitting on the edge of a cookbook, looking up at Dean.

Dean shakes his head, absently looking around the kitchen. "No." The beer was the first thing Dean had suspected to shrink his brother. "I tested it out."

"On what? Or who?" Sam wonders.

"Well, I tried it on a plant first, but when nothing happened I figured it only worked on people."

"So, did _you_ try it…?" Sam hesitates, because he doesn't think that his brother would try it out on himself, and even if Dean did try it, then why wasn't he also tiny?

"No. Remember that jerk in the room next door that almost hit the Impala with his car door?"

Sam nods remembering the argument all too well. The guy told Dean that the Impala was a piece of junk, which sent a fury of rage run through Dean. If Sam hadn't stepped in between them when he did, he was sure that Dean would have decked the guy.

"Well, he got a knock on his door with a complimentary beer from the motel." Dean sighs, looking at the table top. "Too bad it didn't shrink him."

"Yeah, too bad it only worked on your brother," Sam says sarcastically.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you're shrunk in the first place," Dean argues in his defense.

"No, but it doesn't seem like you've been doing much research-"

"Not doing much?" Dean repeats as his eyes start to narrow. "What do you think I've been doing, Sam?"

"I know you said that earlier, but come on, Dean. Ever since I woke up this morning you haven't done anything. You haven't even called Bobby!" And as soon as the words leave his mouth, Sam regrets saying anything.

"Are you kidding me? In case you haven't noticed I've been a little busy here, Sam. And for your information, I WAS going to call Bobby after I filled you in on what really happened, but Ryan called us up for help before I even got the chance."

"Sorry," Sam mutters.

"Whatever," Dean says, looking away from Sam. He knows that Sam doesn't remember the way he treated Dean all week, but deep down Dean has a feeling that it's not far off from what Sam really thinks about him. The way Sam grumbled at Dean for being careless as he casually "left the warehouse" where people could see his giant form. Or the way Sam would complain that Dean crushed a car because he wasn't watching where he was stepping. After that incident Dean made sure that there was no trash on the floor ever again. But, when Sam mistook a fly for a bird, that was the last straw and Dean couldn't take it anymore.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

Dean had been sitting at the table, looking up research on Sam's laptop. He was still trying to find a cure for his brother, but he was getting distracted. Between Sam's laughter and the annoying buzzing that rang in his ears he couldn't focus. In fact he probably re-read the page he was on about five times already and he _still_ wasn't sure what he just read.

Dean swatted the little nuisance and glared at Sam. "It's not funny."

"A bird circling your gigantic head isn't funny?"

"Shut up," Dean mumbled to both Sam and the 'bird'.

"It probably wants to make a nest in your hair." Sam laughed again when the little critter hovered in front of Dean's nose.

Dean twitched his nose and watched the little fly finally buzz away. He smirked, thinking his troubles were over, but the silence didn't last very long. The bug was now circling the laptop and his hands. Things got worse when it started landing on Dean's hands causing him to itch, distracting him even more from his research.

"That. Is IT!" Dean growled, closing the laptop shut. He snatched up an old book and held it up. Dean kept his eye on the little bug, timing his attack just right and smashed the thick book down on top of the annoying insect. He smirked in satisfaction when the buzzing ceased, but the smirk was quickly wiped away when he heard his brother yelling at him.

"Dean, what the hell?!" Sam yelled at his brother, but Dean didn't say anything. "I can't believe you just did that! It was just a little bird!"

Dean ran his hands down his face in frustration. "It wasn't a bird! It was a bug!"

"Dean, quiet down! Somebody is going to hear you!" Sam reprimands him.

"No, they won't!" Dean argues back. "And you want to know why? Because I'm not a giant, Sam. Okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, completely confused.

"This," Dean said, pointing to the dead insect, "is not a bird. It's a house fly. Which means I didn't grow, but you shrunk."

Sam sighed and folded his arms. "Dean, that doesn't make sense. I watched you grow right in front of me. I know what I saw. And besides that, everything else is proportionate to my size. Not yours."

"Oh really?" Dean snatched the remote for the TV off of the dresser and held it right in front of Sam. "Then what do you think this is?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked incredulously, but when Dean just stared at him, waiting for a response Sam finally answered him. "It's a vending machine."

"Vending machine," Dean repeated. He bit his lip and shook his head. Then, he took off the back of the remote, pulled out the batteries and slammed them down in front of Sam. "Then what are these?"

Sam jumped a little and took a step back when Dean slammed his hand down. He looked at the two objects and then back up to Dean. He really couldn't believe Dean was putting him through this, and it was clear by the look on Sam's face. Sam sighed, "Those are bottles of soda."

Dean looked at the batteries and then at his brother again. "Seriously? Dude, they're like half your size!"

"What do you want me to say, Dean?" Sam said, throwing his arms out to his sides. "I'm telling you the truth!"

"NO! You aren't! You think you know everything, but you don't."

"Wait. You are telling me that _I_ don't know everything? Dean, you are the one who just killed a bird because you thought it was a fly. And, now you're trying to tell me that _I_ shrunk?"

Without saying anything else, Dean got up and snatched his coat off of the back of his chair.

"Dean, where are you going? You shouldn't wander off too far, somebody might see you!"

Dean slammed the door shut behind him, smirking a little in self satisfaction, knowing how much that irritated Sam. The vibrations alone probably knocked the little guy over. And right then he was most likely ranting about how Dean was drawing more attention to himself. Dean didn't care anymore about Sam's delusional world, and that was when he decided to start telling Sam the truth about what really happened. Although, it didn't do much good since Sam believed nothing was wrong with him and that Dean was the giant freak.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

As painful as that memory is, Dean can't help but smile just a little at how cute it was to see Sam laugh. And the fact that Sam mistook a fly for a bird made it that much cuter. But he would _never_ admit that to Sam.

Dean looks down at his tiny brother and sighs. He sets his hand down next to Sam with his palm facing upwards. "Come on. We should see how the kids are getting along."

Sam doesn't say anything as he climbs on and takes a seat, hoping that Dean won't put him back in the stuffy pocket again. When his brother brings his hand closer to his chest and starts to walk, Sam relaxes.

Meanwhile; upstairs in Ryan's bedroom he is currently trying to get his sister to talk to him. "Shay, please just talk to me." He leans down and peers in through one of the little windows of the dollhouse. Through the window he can see his sister sitting on the floor between the bed and the window. She had moved there to hide from him when he had come back into his room.

"Go. Away," she says sounding annoyed. Ryan's face had blocked what little light was coming in through the window, and seeing only his one eye and being covered by said eye's shadow was making Shayla feel uneasy. It makes her feel like she is underneath a microscope.

"Why?" Ryan simply asks, trying to get her to talk more even though he could probably guess why.

"Because I asked you to."

"You didn't ask me anything, actually. You did tell me to go away, but you never asked." Ryan smirked when he saw her finally glare at him.

"If I ask you nicely will you go away then?"

"No, because now I would know it was forced." He watches as Shayla groans as she leans her head back, slamming it up against the wall.

"I can't believe you put me in Mom's old dollhouse," she says, looking around at the old furniture that's slightly bigger to her, proportionately.

Ryan pats the roof of the dollhouse lightly as he looks it over. "I thought it would be better than Timmy's old plastic castle with the dungeon." He looks back in at his sister. "He probably would have locked you up in there. I did you a favor. You should be thanking me."

Shayla scoffs. "Thanks Ryan. You're my hero," she deadpans.

"Hey, Mom would be happy that we're getting use out this old thing." Ryan's face softens as he sees his sister look away. He sighs again. "Look… Shayla if you want to… talk-"

"No." Ryan sees her quickly wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her black shirt. "I'm fine."

"Are you really?" He watches his little sister a moment longer, but before he can get an answer out of her, Ryan hears Dean knock on the door.

Dean looks at Ryan and can tell that he's upset. "Is this a bad time?" Dean glances down at Sam, who instinctively looks up at him, wondering the same thing.

"No. You can come in." Ryan pushes himself up and sits up against the side of his bed, watching the dollhouse.

"Something wrong?"

"No. Apparently, everything is fine," Ryan says, knowing full well that his sister heard him. She had been silent for so long, he just wished that she would talk to him or at least somebody else.

Dean nods and looks at Sam again before kneeling down and lowering Sam into the kitchen of the dollhouse. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go find Timmy and see if he's made his way through the maze yet." Dean gets up and leaves the room

As Dean carefully enters Shayla's room, he immediately watches where he's stepping. He doesn't know how or why, but Timmy seemed to get around fast for such a tiny kid. "Timmy?" Dean calls out without raising his voice too much.

"Over here!"

Dean looks to the source of the voice and realizes that Timmy's still in the maze. "Your still in there? I thought for sure you would have found your way out by… What are you looking at?" Dean asks a little worried, because at the moment Timmy is staring at an album cover very intently and occasionally tilting his head. When a smirk appears on Timmy's face, Dean quickly snatches the CD away to see what the young kid was looking at. Dean didn't look at any of the album covers when he was making the maze; he had just grabbed whatever was available. And, now he was worried that he just corrupted a kid that he had gotten to know well over the past week and felt somewhat responsible for.

"Who IS that?" Timmy asks almost breathlessly.

Dean sighs in relief when he sees there's nothing too explicit on the cover. Instead, there's some chick wearing a bikini and sunglasses that look like they were too big for her face. Even though she was wearing clothes, Dean still feels uncomfortable that Timmy saw this, especially with the way he was staring at her.

"Somebody that probably can't sing," Dean answers back.

"Who cares about singing?" Timmy looks at Dean confused. "Look at those legs!"

"Oh no…" Dean rolls his eyes towards the ceiling and murmurs, "What I have I done?"

"And did you see her-?!" Timmy's hand gestures were cut off as his entire body was suddenly surrounded by flesh as Dean quickly wraps his hand around the kid.

With his other hand, Dean sets the CD faced down on the dresser. _No more bikini clad women for the shrimp_, Dean thinks. _Little pervert_. Finally, he understands why Timmy didn't finish the maze. The kid was too busy gawking at the women on the album covers.

Dean unfolds his hand, looking at Timmy who looks like he's about to ramble on about how hot the chick was, so Dean starts to tilt his hand sideways. Right when Timmy starts to fall off, he catches the kid with his other hand. As soon as he lands on Dean's right hand, Dean tilts that hand and catches Timmy in his left. Dean continues to gently drop the kid from one hand to the other until he gets into Ryan's room.

The little ride was enough to shut Timmy up and get his mind on something else. Turns out the little guy loved the game Dean was playing with him and didn't want Dean to stop when he tried to set Timmy down in the dollhouse.

"Please?" he begs Dean. "That was so much fun!"

Dean rolls his eyes as he settles down in front of the open dollhouse. "Fine. But I'm not some carnival ride."

"Pshh, of course not! You're WAY cooler!" Timmy beams up at Dean.

"I should charge you admission."

"Sorry, but I have no money." Timmy smirks as he shows Dean his empty pockets.

"Oh no." It's Dean's turn to smirk now. "I meant that I should go into your room and find your wallet."

Ryan chuckles, "Good luck with that."

Dean bites his lip and looks over at Ryan. "He's got a savings account, right?"

"Yeah…?" Ryan wonders.

"Problem solved," Dean says, looking down at Timmy triumphantly.

"You can't get in there. You need a pin number, which you don't have!" Timmy folds his arms. "I'd like to see you try, though."

"Don't tempt me, kid." Dean tilts his hand sideways again, knocking Timmy over into the other hand. "You'd be surprised by what I can do." Now, Dean looks back inside the dollhouse where Sam's sitting in the living room with Shayla. The tiny girl is trembling as she nervously chews on her nails, but she doesn't seem scared. She looks more like she's anxious.

"Are you sure?" Shayla asks Sam.

"I'm positive. Trust me. Everything will fine." Sam looks up at his brother, who is confused and wondering what they were talking about. "Ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Dean looks over to Ryan. "Do you still need us for anything, otherwise we were gonna head back to the motel?"

"No," he responds, shaking his head. "We'll be fine. Thanks for dropping by."

Dean nods as he places Timmy down inside the attic of the dollhouse, while he holds his other hand out for Sam, who climbs on right away. They say their goodbyes and head out of the house with Sam back inside Dean's coat pocket again. Once they're in the car, Dean opens up his pocket and looks down at Sam.

"What was that all about with Shayla?"

Sam shrugs and shakes his tiny head. "Nothing."

"Nothing? Come on, it had to be something. The girl looked like she was ready to chew off her hand."

"I just told her something to make her feel better."

"Like what?" Dean wonders almost hesitantly.

Sam shrugs. "I told her you knew how to fix this, but we just needed a little time to get things ready."

"So… You lied to her?"

"What was I supposed to do, Dean? She wasn't going to come out from underneath that bed on her own. I had to tell her something."

Dean shakes his head in amazement. "Wow."

"What?" Sam asks, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing." Dean pulls out the keys from his pocket and sticks them inside the ignition.

"Dean, what's wrong? Are you pissed at me or something?"

Dean doesn't bother to answer, but he decides he will explain anyways. It isn't like Sam could really fight back. And the truth is that Dean is getting sick of hearing Sam's lies. "It's just funny how you will do whatever it takes to get the job done these days."

"And that's a bad thing?" Sam retorts back.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"If you're doing the right thing or not."

"And you don't think I am doing it for the right reasons? Dean, that's all I ever think about. People will listen to you better if you lie and tell them what they want to hear."

Dean scoffs at that. "Well, that's one way to make friends."

"I'm not trying to make friends, Dean. I'm just doing my job."

Dean gives a curt nod, but doesn't say anything. Instead, he starts up the engine, backs out of the driveway and heads back to the motel for the rest of the day. There are so many things that Dean wants to say back to Sam, but he bites his tongue just like he did all week. _Not making friends, huh? I seem recall a certain demon that walks by your side like an obedient little dog._ Dean shakes his head, keeping his thoughts to himself. _He'd rather make friends with demons than civilians. Go figure. _And Dean swears that if Ruby calls Sam back then Dean will drop everything to hunt her down.

Ever since Dean caught Sam on the phone, leaving Ruby that message, Dean pocketed Sam's phone. He doesn't know what exactly Sam needed from Ruby, but Dean wasn't about to let her give it to him. The way Sam seemed to have begged Ruby over the phone made him sick. His own brother sounded like a junky, begging his dealer for more of his fix. _That would explain a lot, actually_… Dean suddenly realizes and glances down at his pocket. _What did she give you?_ He wonders for a moment, but looks back at the road ahead of him with a new profound determination. _Doesn't matter. You won't be getting it ever again. Especially if I ever get my hands on that little black eyed piece of trash._

Dean drives in silence, completely ignoring his brother squirming from within his pocket as Dean thinks of the different ways he could slowly kill Ruby. Some of which he got to use on Alistair along with others he would have done if Alistair didn't break free. Dean's face forms a slight smirk as he imagines Ruby squirming in pain. _One of these days, Bitch… one of these days._

Once Dean arrives at the motel he pulls out his cell phone and dials Bobby's number. As he waits for Bobby to answer the phone, he feels Sam still squirming around. Dean can tell that Sam wants to get out of there, but he doesn't let him. Partially because he knows that Sam doesn't like it, and partially because Dean wants him to realize just how small and helpless Sam really was. After all, Sam was the one who had belittled Dean on many occasions this past year and kept telling Dean that he could do things without his help.

"Any chance your callin' because Sam had a sudden growth spurt?" Bobby asks as he answers the phone call.

"No," Dean replies as he feels Sam start to climb towards the top of the pocket lip. Dean goes over to a chair at the table and sits down to explain what happened that morning.

"So, you're telling me that out of the blue Sam finally understands what's going on?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Dean sighs, feeling worn out from everything.

"That doesn't make sense. Even if this curse or spell or whatever did this to him made him hallucinate, why would it suddenly wear off?"

"I don't know, but it wore off of the Warren kids, too," Dean says referring to Timmy and Shayla.

"Then, whatever did this probably made them hallucinate for a reason."

"Why add in the whole shrinking thing then? For kicks?" Dean rubs his forehead and glances down at his pocket which is starting to flap open. Knowing what his brother was trying to do, Dean leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. He feels Sam slip back down to the bottom of the pocket from the sudden motion.

Bobby can sense Dean's aggravation over the phone and assures him, "I'm just a few hours away. When I get there we should scan those woods where the people went missing."

"I'm telling you, Sam and I didn't find anything that day he shrunk. We searched the area and came up with nothing."

"That's because you don't have my eyes."

Dean opens his mouth to speak, but Bobby beats him to it.

"Don't even think about it or else I'm going to figure out what happened to Sam and make sure it happens to you, too."

"I didn't say anything," Dean says in his defense.

"No, but I know what you were thinking. My eyes are just fine."

Dean nods his head, smiling. "How much longer did you say you were going to be?"

"About two, maybe three hours tops."

"Alright, I'll see you then." After saying goodbye, Dean closes his phone and looks down at his pocket. Sam's head is poking out and looking up at him. Without saying anything, Dean reaches his hand into his pocket and gently wraps his fingers around his brother's body, carefully pulling him out and setting Sam down on the table.

"What did Bobby say?"

Dean shakes his head. "Nothing helpful. He doesn't understand the shrinking and hallucinating thing, either."

"He's on his way here, then?" Sam watches Dean nod, but his big brother doesn't say anything else. After years of watching and living with his brother, Sam knows that Dean's still upset with him. "Dean… Do we need to talk about earlier?"

"Which time? The kitchen or the car?" Dean reminds Sam, who instantly starts to feel guilty. But before he can explain, Dean continues. "Besides, what's there to talk about?" Dean shrugs. "What's done is done. We had a disagreement and we move on."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Dean stands up and heads for the refrigerator in the small kitchenette. "Pizza ok for lunch?" he asks over his shoulder.

"That's fine." Sam looks around the room. He really does wish that things were easier between them like they used to be. But deep down he knows that there's no going back now.

"Good, because that's all we've got. Well, I think there was some chicken in there, but I think you had a hard time chewing on it the other night." Dean digs around the kitchenette for plates and silverware. He grabs a beer out and pops it open with the ring on his right hand, tossing the cap on the counter.

They eat their lunch in silence. Dean cuts up Sam one piece at time until the little guy is finally full. While he watches his brother carefully cut up the tiny pieces to a perfect size, Sam starts to notice how careful Dean's been, and how thoughtful he was to Sam's size. So when they're done eating and Dean's leaning back in his chair finishing off the beer that they shared, Sam feels the need to thank his brother.

"Dean…" Sam trails off, but when he sees Dean roll his eyes and is about to stop Sam from talking about the 'disagreement', he quickly says what he wants to say. "Thanks."

Dean pauses, holding the beer lower to look at his brother. "For what?"

"For helping me out this week. I know I was probably being hard on you, but I didn't know… I swear."

Dean looks at Sam, unsure of what to say. Again, a million things run through his mind. Some are good and some are, well, not so good. Sure, it was nice to hear that Sam was thankful, but Dean couldn't help but know that that was the real Sam. The only difference was that Sam didn't know what was real. But in the end Dean just gives a small nod and says, "Don't mention it," before he drinks more of his beer.

"Hey, Dean?"

"What now?" Dean groans after swallowing a mouthful of beer. "Honestly, Sam, I swear if you keep trying to get me to talk about my feelings, I'm going to start calling you Samantha and buy you some doll clothes. And none of them will be from a GI Joe."

"I wasn't going to," Sam chuckles a little before his face falls into a frown. "You wouldn't?"

With a smirk Dean says, "Why wouldn't I? Not like you can stop me." Dean gives Sam a wink as he takes another swig of his beer. He swallows the bitter liquid down. "What did you want?"

"How did you find out about Shayla and Timmy?"

"Well…" Dean begins.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

"Sammy? You okay?" Dean asked, ducking his head lower to get a better look at his brother. Sam just blinked and looked at him confused.

A little over half an hour had passed by since Sam had mysteriously shrank. Dean had carefully picked up a dazed Sam, treating him as if he was made of frail glass and would shatter with the slightest of pressure. The entire time between picking Sam up to setting him down on the table, Dean had cupped his left hand underneath the one that held his brother for further protection.

"I… think so," Sam slowly answered as he stared at his enormous looking brother.

One minute his brother was fine, drinking his beer and the next, Dean was watching Sam dwindle down right before his eyes. _Wait a minute_, Dean thought as he looked over to where his brother's beer was sitting on the table. Dean immediately stood up from his crouching position and picked up the bottle. He tried peering inside to see if there was any unusual scents or any color distortion, but right when he we was about to put the bottle under a better light there was a knock at the door.

Fearing that his brother would be spotted, Dean scrambled to find somewhere to hide him. Not finding anything else, Dean figured that the tissue box would be the best thing for now. Dean snagged the box off of the nightstand and went back over to his brother, where he set the box down on its side. "Get in," he ordered as he looked back up at the door when they both heard another knock. Once Sam climbed inside, Dean warned him before he righted the box.

Another more rapid knock sounded as Dean walked over to the door. "Alright, I'm coming!" he snapped as he unlocked the door and opened it, getting ready to pull out his gun. "What do you…? Ryan? How did you find us?"

"Your car," the kid pointed at the Impala as he tried to catch his breath. "I searched all around town, hoping I would find you..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Shayla and Timmy… Actually, you probably won't believe me. But, I just feel like you would be the only person who would understand, and you were the last one with us, so I thought maybe… Um… Is your brother alright? I mean… nothing weird happened… right?"

Dean glanced behind him at the tissue box and looked back at Ryan. "What kind of weird are we talking about?"

Ryan stared at Dean, clearly looking uncomfortable. "Nevermind," he waves his hand, looking like he's about to give up. "Forget I said anything."

As Ryan was about to leave, Dean stopped him. "Ryan wait." Dean hesitated, wondering if he should tell the kid anything, but when he saw the lost look on Ryan's face he got his answer. "Show me what happened. I think I might be able to help."


	5. Help and Theories

A/N: I am so so so SO sorry this took so long to get published. Back in October I went to the Supernatural Chicago convention, and my cousin and I made a centerpiece for the contest which took up most of my free time. (We made a mini motel room. lol) Then after the Con I got sick a few times and the holidays got in the way. And then when I finally got it finished two weeks ago, my good friend nej47 pointed out a huge mistake I made, so the ending needed to get re-written. No, it didn't take two weeks to fix it, but I ended up not feeling well at all until this weekend.

So, again, I appologize and will try to get the next chapter posted sooner than this one. Unless, of course, life gets in the way. Also, I owe a HUGE thank you to nej47 for helping me and encouraging me to get this chapter done. You rock! :D

* * *

Chapter 5: Theories and Tests

It didn't take much for Dean to convince Ryan to trust him, because the kid was desperate for some help. Dean followed the young man outside to a well used, navy-blue car that was parked next to his Impala.

"I had to put the shoebox in the backseat…" Ryan explained wearily, still unsure if he was doing the right thing. As he went to unlock the car door he paused. "You know what… I don't think I can do this."

Dean sighed and looked inside the car at the shoebox. When he saw the little air holes he knew exactly what Ryan wanted to show him. "Let me guess. Your brother and sister shrunk, right?"

Ryan suddenly looked up at Dean with surprise. "How did you-?"

"Because the same thing happened to my brother," Dean explained. "But like I said before, I think I might be able to help them." He nodded at the car. "Can I see them?"

Without saying a word, Ryan nodded his head and unlocked the door. He opened the door and carefully unbuckled the seatbelt that was covering the box. "I didn't want to risk the airbags going off so I had to put them back here," he spoke quietly. With a deep breath, Ryan slowly pulled the lid off of the shoebox.

Dean leaned forward, peering into the small box. He heard a pair of gasps before he spotted them. The two kids were huddled in the corner. Shayla had her arm protectively in front of Timmy, holding him back as they both stared up at Dean with wide eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," Ryan spoke softly, trying to reassure his younger siblings. "Dean's going to try to help us out."

"Yeah, everything's going to be fine." Dean gave them a friendly smile, even though he wasn't really sure if that was true.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

"After that we had a pretty long talk about what you and I do," Dean explains, rubbing his brow.

"So… You told them everything?"

Dean shrugs. "Just enough. Didn't feel the need to fill them in on the whole end of the world part," he says before he drinks some more of his beer.

Sam nods in understanding and then his face falls into one of question. "How did Ryan find out?" He watches as Dean looks down at him confused. "How did he know that they shrunk?" Sam clarifies.

Now it's Dean turn to nod as he turns in his chair to face his brother. "Ryan and Shayla got into a fight about school or something—I don't know—and then she just shrunk right in front of him like you did. You should have seen him. The poor kid was panicked that she was going to vanish out of sight." Dean lets his eyes wander, knowing all too well how the kid felt. Just standing there, watching your sibling shrink down until they were only a few inches tall, and not being able to do anything, but watch and stare confused and scared out of your mind. One second everything is normal and the next the person standing right in front of you starts dwindling away before your eyes and you are completely helpless. But, at the same time you don't want them to find out just how scared you really are, so you try to stay calm.

"And how'd they find out about Timmy?" Sam asks, bringing Dean back out of his thoughts.

Dean smirks a little. "Ryan heard something scurrying around in Timmy's room. At first he thought it was a mouse. Apparently, Timmy somehow trapped himself inside of a shoebox. Ryan didn't let him out of it until he came to us." Dean shakes his head. "We never should have let him out of that shoebox. I swear that kid is like the Tasmanian Devil."

After Dean finishes catching Sam up on how they reunited with the Warren kids, he goes back to researching on Sam's laptop. Sam on the other hand is left to do nothing but sit and give his brother some suggestions. Turns out everything Sam comes up with; Dean had already looked it up days ago.

An hour and a half later there is a knock on their motel door. Dean goes over to the door, checks the peephole and unlocks the door. "Hey, Bobby," he greets the older hunter.

"Dean. Where is he?"

Dean thumbs towards the table and closes the door after Bobby enters the room.

"Hi, Bobby," Sam greets the elder hunter with a weak wave.

Upon seeing Sam, Bobby shakes his head. "Don't you two ever know how to stay out of trouble?"

"Apparently not," Dean replies and plops down into a chair at the table, resting his arm on it for support.

"So, you finally know, huh?" Bobby addresses Sam.

"Yeah, I guess," Sam shrugs. "How long have you known?"

"About your Incredible Shrinking Man act? Since Dean called me up six days ago, complaining that you were calling him a giant. Although, I gotta admit that I never thought I'd have that conversation with him."

"That makes two of us," Dean grumbles.

Sam looks over at Dean with a smirk, but Dean doesn't look happy. In fact, his older brother looks upset and worn out. Sam wrinkles his brow wondering what exactly is on Dean's mind.

"So, you two ready to check out the park or would rather just sit around here all day twiddling your thumbs?"

Now Dean smirks a little.

Half an hour later, Sam is in his brother's pocket again, as Dean and Bobby walk along the same trail that the boys had taken a week ago. His little head is poking out as he struggles to keep his grip on the thick fabric.

"This is where we met up with the kids," Dean informs Bobby. "After that Sam and I split up."

Both Bobby and Dean look down at Sam. "Which way did you go?"

Sam looks around and points to the left. "Over there, along that small trail."

"Looks like it's not that old," Bobby comments.

"Yeah, you're right," Dean says as they both walk closer to the path. "Kinda like a short cut somebody took and eventually it just got worn down to look like a trail." As he starts walking towards the trail, Bobby stops him.

"Do you really think that's a good idea to go through there? What if the same thing happens to you while he's in your pocket?" Bobby glares at him.

Dean looks down at Sam, who in turn looks up at him. After taking a moment to consider what Bobby had said, Dean carefully reaches inside his pocket and pulls out his brother. "Take him," Dean says as he carefully hands Sam over to Bobby, both hands carefully cupping his brother until Bobby holds out his hand.

Once Sam was in his palm, Bobby moves his hand over to his breast pocket and lets Sam crawl inside of his coat. As soon as Sam is safe, both hunters lead the way through the trail. Sam points out which turns he took before and eventually leads them to the area that they had spotted the rabbit.

"This is where we found Timmy," Sam explains.

Dean takes a look around. There are trees all around them. Not as many as the other parts of the woods, but just enough. The ground is covered in a layer of grayed leaves and dead twigs. There really wasn't much to see.

Without saying a word, Dean and Bobby split up, both taking different sections of the woods, looking for any clue that will help them. As he is walking, Dean can't help but wonder why Sam called Ruby. The way his brother acted afterwards didn't help Dean's worry any. Sure she may have saved Sam's life, but was she really doing it for him or does she have another reason that they don't know about? _Unless Sam knows something and he's not telling me. Wouldn't surprise me at this point with all of the lies he's been telling me._ Dean sighs and shakes his head. _Dammit Sam._

Looking down at the ground, Dean notices something not too far from where he was walking. As he walks closer he makes out what looks like a small rodent that was chewed up and torn to shreds. Dean is about to walk away, but something else among the blood and dirt draws his attention. Crouching down to get a better look, Dean reaches out and picks up the tiny red thing in his hand. He holds it in his palm as he brushes the dirt off of it and finally realizes what it is.

"Hey, Bobby! I think I found something!" Dean calls and stands up, still examining the little thing. He nudges it with his finger, turning it over to get a good look at it from every angle.

"What'd ya find?" Bobby asks as he walks up to Dean.

Dean looks up at Bobby and then down to his pocket where Sam's little head is poking out. He holds out his hand and shows them. "It's a coat."

"Where did you find that?" Sam asks.

"Down there. I think the owner got chewed up by a wild animal."

Bobby looks at the small mess and nods in agreement looking disgusted at the site.

"Dean, bring it up here for a second," Sam nods towards the coat.

Without saying anything, Dean obliges and watches as Sam looks the blood stained coat over. He digs his tiny hands into the pockets and finds a wallet, pulling out a driver's license. "Leslie Harris."

"That explains why she didn't show up for her job interview," Dean concludes as he remembers talking to the young woman's boyfriend, who had been worried sick about her.

"And that confirms what happened to the missing people," Sam concludes.

Dean drops his hand at once and looks at Sam annoyed. "Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious, I kinda figured that out, oh, six days ago."

Sam looks taken aback as Dean pockets the tiny evidence and looks away.

"Dean, you said he just got his memory back, he doesn't know what you have and have not done this week," Bobby reminds him, but Dean just shakes his head.

"Right. Forget it." Dean scratches the back of his head and glances at Sam for a moment, his face hard. He knows he shouldn't snap at Sam, but every time he looks at him Dean can't help but think about all of the lies and that phone call he had walked in on days ago.

Dean sighs and walks away from them, trying to clear his mind. Before he realizes where he is going he finds the spot where Sam and the kids had fallen down into the small pond. He looks down at the car-sized pool with moss and ferns growing all around it. As he looks at the clear water he notices something glowing at the bottom of the water. Dean squints his eyes, trying to get a better look. "What the…?"

"Dean?" Bobby asks as he walks up the young man's side. "What is it?"

"I think I see something down there," he points into the water.

Bobby immediately spots the same thing. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Dean starts to carefully make his way down the steep incline, grabbing trees to keep him steady. Behind him, he hears Bobby following him.

Once they get to the bottom, Dean walks over to the pond's edge and leans in closer to get a better look. "It looks like some sort of rock or something." Dean examines the area around the pond. Nothing else seems odd or out of place. In fact Dean doesn't spot any other rocks in the area.

Sam looks on from Bobby's pocket as he, too, examines the rock. "Do you think that caused the shrinking?"

Bobby is about to answer Sam's question, but when he notices what Dean's been doing he starts to get a little weary. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a stick or something. The water isn't too deep, and that rock isn't that far from the edge. If I could find a stick, then maybe I could pull it out and-"

"And what?" Bobby challenges.

Dean looks up at both of them. "We can't just leave it in there! What if a little kid comes along and shrinks down? Oh, wait, that already happened."

"But, Dean, if you're not careful the same thing will happen to you," Sam says. His voice soundly surprisingly sincere, which throws Dean off. It had been a while since the last time he had heard true sincerity in his brother's voice.

Despite being a little relieved by Sam's reaction, Dean shakes his head. "There's only one way to get it out, and you KNOW we have to."

Bobby stays silent, but Sam quickly speaks up again. "Dean, don't do what I think you're about to do, alright? We'll just go back to the car and get a shovel-"

"We?" Dean snorts. "Don't you think you're a little too, well, little to be carrying a shovel. Sorry, Sammy, but I don't think there's much you could do besides come along for the ride."

"You know what I mean, Dean. Just leave the rock and we—YOU can come back for it WITH a shovel."

Dean shakes his head. "Sorry, but I can't take the chance of this happening to somebody else. No way."

"Fine. Then Bobby and I can wait here while you go back-"

"No."

"Dammit, Dean," Sam finally snaps. "Why not?"

Dean looks down at the rock in the water and then back to his little brother. For the first time in what feels like forever, Dean's face softens. He knows his brother is worried about him, but at the same he knows he has to do the right thing. "Because there's only one way we can know for certain that that rock is behind all of this."

"Dean, are you sure about this?" Bobby asks, feeling uneasy about this new plan.

Looking down at the rock for a moment, Dean sighs. "Not really, but what other options do we have? You KNOW I have do this, Bobby. Besides, we don't even know for sure if that rock is a part of all of this. For all we know it could just be a regular rock and we'll look like idiots for poking at it with a stick."

Bobby looks down at Sam, both knowing Dean is right. "Fine," Bobby says looking back at Dean. "Just try to be careful."

Without another word, Dean moves closer to the edge of the water, crouches down, rolls up his sleeve, and quickly dips his hand inside the water. His fingers hesitate for a second before he finally wraps them around the palm-sized rock.

Sam silently watches his brother pull the rock out of the water. Even though a part of him knew Dean was right, Sam can't help but feel that something is wrong. _You know what's really wrong? The fact that you are currently riding inside of Bobby's coat pocket! THAT's what's wrong!_

Dean flips the rock over and notices some engravings on it. Only, they aren't carved into the rock, they look more like they are embedded into the rock naturally. "Well, it's definitely something." Dean turns around and walks the short distance over to Bobby and Sam, holding his hand out for them to see.

"I'd say so," Bobby mumbles, being sure not to touch the rock.

"We should probably start heading back, then. If that's what caused me and the kids to shrink, then we have about half an hour to forty-five minutes before Dean shrinks down," Sam reminds them.

Dean pockets the rock and looks at his little brother. "So do you want to ride in my pocket or stay where you're at?"

Sam snorts. "Are you kidding? You're contaminated. With my luck I'll shrink further if I'm in your pocket. Or you'll shrink, I'll stay the same size and the pocket will rip."

Pursing his lips, Dean considers this for a moment. "Good point. If I shrink down I'd rather not have your gigantor ass fall on me, even if it was proportionately the same size."

Bobby rolls his eyes and gently pushes Sam back into his pocket as he turns around to start heading back to the car.

About twenty minutes later Dean, Sam and Bobby are all back at the motel. Standing by the window of their motel room, Dean's busy doing some research on the victim they found in the woods. He's currently on the phone with Leslie's boyfriend, trying to get more information out of the guy, while Bobby is flipping through one of his books trying to find the symbols on the rock.

Dean set the rock down on the table for them to look at after they had gotten back. As they studied it, they couldn't find anything else odd about it, except that it was smooth, pale in color and the imprinted symbols were redder than the rest of the rock.

As Dean listens to what the guy has to say about his late girlfriend, Dean looks over his shoulder at Bobby and realizes the older hunter has stopped researching. Instead, Bobby is sitting at the table with Sam sitting on his closed laptop. Both hunters are staring at him intently, waiting for him to shrink down. Dean understands why they are watching him, but he still can't help but be unnerved by their stares.

Dean clears his throat and turns back to the window. "Right, well, thank you for your time. Call me if anything else comes to mind, okay?" Dean nods to the answer and hangs up his phone. He takes a moment to look out the window and to the woods across the street from their room. As he watches the world outside he wonders if this will be the last time he'll be able to look out a window without needing help from somebody else. _Better take advantage of your size while you still can. Speaking of which…_ Dean lets out a heavy sigh as he turns around and heads to the bathroom. He's just about to walk through the door when he hears Bobby call after him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh… The bathroom. Why is that a crime?" Dean looks over at Sam to make a face, but he sees that Sam's glaring at him with tiny hands on his miniature hips.

"What for?" Bobby looks at him suspiciously.

Dean chuckles a little. "Do you want me to go into detail or would you rather I draw you a picture?" When he sees that nobody else is sharing his amusement, Dean finally throws his hands out to his sides and explains, "I have to take a leak, okay? Figured I'd do it in a toilet while I still can."

"That's what I thought," Bobby says with a nod. "Do you really think it's a good idea to relieve yourself when you have no idea when you're going to shrink?"

"What if you shrink and fall in while your… you know?" Sam says, making a disgusted face. Although, deep down he's very grateful that that didn't happen to him.

Dean glares at them both. "I'll be fine." After walking into the bathroom, he turns around to close the door and looks across the room at his action figure-sized brother. "By the way, thanks for that mental image, Sam." As he's about to close the door he hears Bobby again.

"Don't lock that door, unless you want to be stuck swimming in your-"

"Again, thank you for the mental image!" Dean yells through the door.

A short while later Dean opens the bathroom door and jolts in surprise seeing Bobby standing RIGHT there, leaning against the frame. "Seriously?" Bobby just shrugs.

"Better safe than sorry."

"Right." Dean shakes his head and walks over to his bed where he lays down, stretching his legs out. "So, how much longer do we have to wait?"

"Any minute now," Sam says once he gets Bobby's attention to pick him up and carry him over to the nightstand. Bobby lets Sam hop off of his hand onto the wooden surface, where he walks over to the edge of the nightstand and sits down. He looks up at his big brother, wanting to be there for Dean when he shrank, knowing full well how nauseating and disorienting it is after you shrink down.

"Awesome," Dean sighs. He settles back into his pillow, arms crossed over his chest. "Wake me after I've been downsized." Right as he gets comfortable and ready to drift off, he feels a firm nudge hit his foot. He opens one eye and sees Bobby glare at him. "What?"

"I'm not your babysitter," he grunts as he walks back over to the table and tries to get comfortable in one of the cheap chairs.

"So you're just going to leave us after I shrink?" Dean inquires, knowing that his old pal would never do that to them… At least not long term, anyways.

Bobby opens his mouth, realizes that Dean is right and sighs, looking away. He goes back to flipping through the old book as they wait.

Dean cracks his eyes open after a few minutes and looks at his watch. Only ten minutes have passed, so he readjusts his position and tries to sleep again.

A while later he opens his eyes. Looking around the room, Dean realizes that everything is the same and he still hasn't shrunk. "How long is this supposed to take? It's been" –he goes to check his watch again—"an hour. Shouldn't I be his size by now?" Dean says pointing to Sam who is now sprawled across the pillow next to Dean.

"I don't know," Bobby says as he shakes his head in confusion. He's still looking at the pages of his second book. "But, that definitely caused the shrinking."

Dean and Sam both sit up, intrigued with what Bobby had just said. "You found the symbol?" Sam asks, sounding hopeful.

"Yeah," Bobby says in frustration. "But there isn't much in here about it, only that it's a part of a diminishing ritual."

"Then how come Dean didn't shrink?"

Dean frowns at Sam's tone and looks down to his right. "Gee, don't sound so happy, Sam."

Sam looks up at his brother. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering, that's all."

"He does bring up a good point," Bobby remarks as he studies Dean. "You haven't felt dizzy or strange or anything, have you?"

"No," Dean shakes his head.

"Maybe you have to ingest the water?" Sam suggests with a shrug. He looks from Bobby and up to Dean who is looking at him puzzled. "Bobby said the rock was a _part_ of a ritual, not the whole thing. And when I fell into the pond with the Warren kids we all got water in our mouths. So, maybe, the rock curses the water somehow, which would explain the time delay for the shrinking. It would need time to absorb into your system before it can take effect."

Dean shrugs. "Maybe. Doesn't matter now that we know it's the cause of the shrinking." He looks down at his baby brother. "Sorry, Sammy, looks like you're gonna be the only human action figure around here for a while."

Giving his neck a break, Sam looks at the massive bed before him. His shoulders droop as he wonders if his long legs will ever reach the end of the bed, while his head stays at the headboard. _And here I used to think they made these beds too small._ Sam sighs and hangs his head.

* * *

Edit 2/4/13: So it seems that none of my line breaks got posted in chapters 3, 4 and 5. I tried figuring out how to add them back in, but it wouldn't let me. I finally figured out a way around it and fixed all of the chapters. I appologize for the error. Honestly thought they got added in. :)

Also, I'm still working on this. Already started the next chapter and I'm considering adding a cover photo. Not sure yet on the photo thing, though. No guarantees.


	6. Small Problems and Big Discoveries

A/N: It LIVES! So so so so so so SO sorry for the massive delay. I did NOT abandon this story. I just got massive writers block and life got in the way, preventing me from being in the mood to write this fic. But, because of this massive delay, I actually ended up thinking of an ending to this fic that is a thousand times better than what I had originally planned. Trust me, the original is boring in comparison. Anyways, inspiration hit a while ago and I've been working on it non-stop ever since.

Massive thanks to Nej47 and Future Shigure for their help and encouragement. *HUGS* You guys are the best!

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Chapter 6: Small problems and big discoveries

Dean locks up their room for the night. He peers out the window, watching as Bobby heads off to his own room, before closing the curtains. Turning around, Dean stretches his back a little and walks over to his duffle. It had been a long day and his body is aching for him to get into bed. After grabbing what he needs and shrugging out of his button-down shirt, he heads to the bathroom.

A short while later, Dean exits the bathroom and goes straight to his bed. He turns the lamp off, casting the room in shadows with the only source of light coming from the neon motel sign, leaking onto the floor under the long curtains. Dean lies down and pulls the sheets up, getting nice and comfortable for a long night's rest. He's just starting to relax when he hears Sam call his name. "What?" Dean asks, turning his head towards his brother.

"How am I supposed to sleep?"

"It's a bed, Sammy. Figure it out," he groans and rolls over.

"Don't you think it's kinda…big?"

"So? You used to think they were kinda small, but you managed."

"Dean…" He gets another groan in response.

"They were big all week and you slept just fine."

"Yeah, but… I don't remember how I slept."

Dean lets out a small sigh. "Right," he says, remembering how he tried to help Sam out that first night. His little brother had insisted that he didn't need any help. Dean wasn't sure what Sam thought he was sleeping on, but whatever it was, Sam found it perfectly normal that he didn't have any pillows or blankets. So Dean got used to not having to worry about Sam's sleeping conditions.

"Just… crawl up by the pillow and make yourself a little nest or something with the sheets."

"A nest? I'm not a rodent, Dean."

"Yeah, well, you seem like a little pest to me, so if the shoe fits…"

Sam sighs, ignoring his brother before he takes the suggestion. Once he's up by the pillows, he bunches up some of the blanket as best as he can for a pillow he can actually use. But when he goes to pull a part of the sheet over him, he stops. "Dean."

"Just go to sleep, Sam," Dean grumbles into the pillow.

"I can't."

"Why not?" he asks, rubbing his forehead a little.

"Because there's a stain on this sheet," Sam answers, looking disgusted at the site before him.

"Sam, it's a motel. There's always a stain."

"Not one that's bigger than my whole body."

Dean snorts a little.

"Dude, it's not funny."

Dean finally rolls over and turns on the lamp to look at him. "It's a little funny." He gets a glare in response, so he sits up. He looks behind his brother and grimaces a little. "You really weren't kidding when you said it was bigger than you."

"Dean," Sam nearly whines.

"Alright—alright. What do you want me to do?" he asks, rubbing his eyes.

"A flannel maybe?" Sam suggests, referring to one of his clean shirts.

After getting up, Dean walks over to Sam's backpack and pulls out one of his shirts. He comes back to set it down on Sam's bed.

"Hey, wait," Sam stops him.

"What now?" Dean asks, dropping the shirt to his side in exasperation. "I swear, it's like taking care of a four-year-old."

"I was just…"

Dean raises his brow and waits for the little guy to continue. Seeing Sam scratch the back of his head, Dean speaks up, "What is it?"

"I…" Sam sighs. "This is gonna sound stupid."

"Sam," Dean warns, "I'm very tired. If you don't tell me what you want, I'm just going to drop this shirt on you and let you figure it out on your own."

"I think I… would rather sleep in the drawer."

"The drawer?" Dean asks, confused, because surely he didn't hear that right. When he sees Sam shrug his shoulders, he looks back surprised. "Why?" he asks at length, starting to think that maybe this shrinking thing was starting to mess up his little brother's mind. Again.

Sam looks down for a moment and then finally answers. "Because I feel like I'm out in the open... I couldn't even defend myself if something happened," he quietly admits, ashamed and embarrassed. After looking around the dingy room, he looks back to Dean. "I just figured the drawer would be safer… And I would be closer to you if somebody broke in."

Dean looks down at the shirt in his hands. This was the first time since Sam shrunk that Dean finally understood how weird this situation was for his tiny brother. It's as if Sam has just shrunk and is getting used to the situation, rather than having dealt with it for a week. Realizing this, Dean actually starts to feel for him. And instead of teasing his brother, he keeps his mouth shut and places the folded up shirt inside of the empty drawer in the nightstand.

Sam climbs onto the nightstand on his own and is ready to jump down into the drawer, but Dean stops him.

"Here," he says, handing Sam a rolled up tissue. "You can use it as a pillow. And I made sure the pockets were on top, so you could use one as a sleeping bag or something," he adds, referring to Sam's flannel.

"Thanks." Dean nods and Sam gives him a weak smile before dropping down into his temporary room for the night.

When he sees his little brother get settled in, Dean reaches for the lamp and turns off the light once again. For a moment he just stares at the cracked open drawer of the nightstand. He can't help but worry that tomorrow morning Sam will have forgotten everything, even though deep down he feels that things will be different.

It doesn't take long before both boys fall into a restful slumber.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

"I just don't get why you believed I was the one with a problem," Dean finally admits, while closing the laptop and looking down at his little brother. Knowing that Sam still has his memory back, and is somewhat starting to get used to his predicament, he figures now is a good time to ask the questions that are bugging him the most.

On top of a small stack of books, Sam shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head. "I don't know. Everything seemed normal to me, except for you."

"But how do you explain the motel room?" Dean asks, gesturing to the dingy space that was their temporary living quarters for the past week.

"I thought it was some abandoned warehouse we were staying in."

"And what did you think my bed was made out of? A million mattresses, because we stayed at some mattress warehouse?"

"I don't remember everything, Dean. It's all fuzzy to me now. I only remember bits and pieces." Sam lets out a sigh and thinks of an example. "Like, I remember you having an entire truck full of pie, but I don't remember how we got it or why."

"A truck full of pie?" Dean repeats, skeptically. Yet, secretly he can't help but think of how awesome that would be._ A whole truck of pie, all for myself? Huh. Why haven't I ever thought of that?_

Sam shrugs. "You love your pie."

Dean runs his hand down his face. "This sounds like something _I_ would make up; not you. I'm surprised you didn't see any giant women giving me lap dances."

"Yeah, I'm actually thankful that I don't remember anything like that." Sam grimaces a little in obvious discomfort, no doubt trying to erase the new mental images that just popped into his tiny brain.

Ignoring his brother, Dean looks thoughtful for a moment and hesitates. "Well… there _was_ that one girl… You don't remember any earthquakes, do you?" When he looks down and sees Sam go from disgusted to horrified, Dean can't help but laugh. "Kidding. Dude, you should have seen your face." He chuckles a little more, seeing the teeny tiny grumpy look on his baby brother's face. "Oh, come on, you know I would never do that to you." Dean looks away and quietly mutters, "On purpose, anyways."

"You do realize that I heard that, right?" Sam suddenly asks after a moment of awkward silence.

Dean freezes, widening his eyes a little. He didn't mean for Sam to hear that, he honestly didn't. It's not like he WANTED to scar the kid. And after hearing about Sam's little summer fling with Ruby all those months back—when he told Dean in that motel room why he trusted the demon—Dean feels some sympathy for his brother. But at the same time he can't help but think of it as a little payback.

Deciding to change the conversation, Dean pushes his chair back and stretches his arms out to his side, arching his back and hearing a series of little cracks run up his spine, "Alright. I'm gonna go out and see if I can find any link between the victims that we might have missed. Do you wanna come with or wait here until Bobby gets back from the library?"

"What for? You already know that the rock and water is behind the shrinking," Sam reminds him.

"I'm not so sure anymore," Dean admits, looking down at his brother.

"Why not?"

"Because we didn't see any tiny animals out in the woods," he explains. "Don't you think an animal or two would have drunk from that pond? So why wasn't there any evidence of miniaturized wildlife running around? I mean, I found evidence of tiny people, so why not animals?"

"It could just be a curse that's aimed at humans," Sam suggests as Dean starts pacing back and forth across the room. "Or, maybe they got eaten by other wildlife."

"I don't know. Something's not adding up." Dean scratches the back of his head as he keeps thinking.

They both stay silent, thinking about this new information.

"So, you wanna come with me or not?" Dean finally repeats.

Sam looks at his brother's pocket and frowns, most likely remembering his time in the pocket earlier. And if his expression was anything to go by, it clearly wasn't a pleasant experience. Sam crinkles his forehead, looking away. He really doesn't want to go with, but at the same time he doesn't want to be left alone in this vast space with no way to defend himself.

Without being told, Dean can tell what Sam is thinking. "You wanna stay?"

"Yeah, but it'd be stupid. I might as well hand myself over to Lilith right now." Sam slumps down.

"Unless," Dean starts with a sly grin "You have your very own Sammy-sized panic room." His grin widens when he sees the confused expression his brother is giving him.

A short while later, Dean stands up in front of the dresser, satisfied with his handy work. _That should work_; he nods and pushes the dresser back up against the wall.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asks.

"Positive." Dean points to the Devil's traps he etched into the wood. "These will keep demons locked out of there like Fort Knox. And all you have to do is climb down through the hole in the back and prop the wood back in place. And it wouldn't hurt to push the bible against it if you can manage… No offence."

"None taken." Sam stands up, ready to get picked up.

Dean crosses the room. "You know, I'm starting to think the real reason you don't want to go inside my pocket is because you don't want to mess up your hair."

Sam glares up at him, but doesn't say anything, because it's partially true. It's not like he has a teeny tiny comb that he can use.

"Eh, it's probably for the best, anyways," Dean finally says, waving it off. "It'd be weird to have to explain why the lump in my pocket is squirming… Well… Not unless I'm talking to a hot chick." He throws his little brother a mischievous grin.

"Thanks for that mental image," Sam says, looking disgusted.

"Any time. That's what big brothers are for, right? Scarring their siblings for life."

"And if you think I'll ever go in your pants pockets-"

"Yeah yeah." Dean interrupts with a smile. "Tom Thumb will kill me in my sleep with a thumb tack." He holds out his hand on the table top for Sam.

"No, Tom Thumb will bring a thumb tack with him if you ever make him go in your pants pocket." Dean winces and Sam grins while he walks onto Dean's palm.

Once his brother is settled, Dean carries him over to the bed. He doesn't trust Sam being on the cheap, wooden table with no one else around to catch him in case he falls. Not that Sam can't fall off of the bed, but for some reason, Dean trusts him up there more than on the small, round table.

After grabbing his jacket, Dean makes sure to leave Sam's cell phone on the nightstand between the beds, just in case the little guy needs to call him or Bobby. With salt lining the windows and doors, he leaves the room, locking it up tight.

*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*

Janine Harris had let Dean into her sister's house, believing that he was a federal agent, like Leslie's boyfriend had. She wasn't there when he had interviewed the young man, so Dean was hoping that he'd get some new information from the woman.

"Ms. Harris, did your sister say anything to you that might have sounded strange?"

"Strange?" Dean nods and she looks thoughtful for a moment. "No. Not that I can remember."

"Okay. Um, did your sister have any enemies that you knew of? Or anyone that she got into a fight with recently?"

Janine looks to the side, and shakes her head, laughing bitterly. "Just one." She then looks Dean in the eyes, with a cold stare. "Me."

"I'm sorry?"

"Leslie was cheating on her boyfriend," she states, folding her arms and leaning back in the dining room chair, and then adds, "with MY fiancé."

Dean's eyebrows rise at the new information. "How did you find that out?"

"His text messages," she answers. "We have the same type of phone and I picked his up by mistake, thinking I had a new message. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of my baby sister in her underwear."

Hearing that, Dean nearly chokes. He clears his throat (and his mind) as he regains composure. "I'm sorry to hear that."

The young woman shakes her head and waves it off. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. She's gone and she's not coming back."

"What do you mean?" Dean asks, suddenly even more suspicious of the woman. He tenses a little and moves his hand closer to his back where his gun is tucked away in his waistband.

"I mean she's gone off with my fiancé. I haven't seen him since Leslie went missing." She grabs the cup of coffee on the table and takes a sip.

"You haven't?" Dean asks and sees her shake her head. He's still not sure if he can trust her, but he relaxes his hand. If she is behind this, he's pretty sure she would have thrown some dark magic his way by now. "Do you know if anyone else has heard from him?"

The woman shakes her head again. "His work left a message, wondering where he was, but that was it."

"When was this?"

"Yesterday," she shrugs it off.

"And what was your fiancé's name?"

"Kevin Glass."

Dean nods and writes the name down on a little notepad he had brought with him. "Well, thank you for your time. You've been very helpful." Shortly after that, Dean leaves the house and pulls out his cell phone. He brings it up to his ear and waits a few seconds before he hears somebody answer. "Hey, Bobby, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to find out where a guy named Kevin Glass lives. I think we have another victim."

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

Back in the motel room, Sam sits on the nightstand, leaning against the remote. He had turned on the news to try to catch up on what he missed the past week, but the more he watches the screen, the more pain he feels. Ever since he woke up and realized that he had been hallucinating, he had a minor headache. He didn't say anything, because it was so subtle that it wasn't even worth complaining over. But now that he's alone with his thoughts, it just seems to get worse and worse. More than anything he wishes he could take some aspirin and wash it down with water.

_That's not what you really want_, a voice deep inside him argues.

Sam swallows with his dry throat and blinks as he tries to focus on the weather report. But the voice doesn't give in so easily.

_It's been days. You NEED more to get strong. The longer you go without it, the weaker you get! Do you WANT Lilith to win?_

He knows it is true, but as he hears about a hit-and-run on the news, he's reminded of where that strength and power comes from. Demon blood. He knows it's wrong and if he thinks about it too much, he actually gets grossed out by it.

_But it's the ONLY way you can stop Lillith and get your revenge,_ the voice reminds him. _So what if you have to drink a little blood? You're not killing anyone to do it!_

With a heavy sigh, Sam rubs his forehead, wishing it would just make the pain go away. _Am I doing the right thing,_ he wonders. Despite how much work and training he's gone through to get this far, he can't help but feel guilty and wonders how he even trusted a demon in the first place. _What if Ruby really is in this for herself? And if she really cares then how come I haven't heard from her in weeks... Maybe Dean is right._ Ever since Dean found out that Sam was using his powers and admitted that he would hunt Sam if he didn't know him, the words would echo in Sam's head every time he swallowed the crimson liquid down. And all of this confusion on what is right and what is wrong doesn't help his headache one bit.

Sam wishes he had asked Dean to leave him some water in a bottle cap before he left. He knows it wouldn't help with the headache, but it would definitely help with his dry throat and get his mind off of things that are making it worse.

As he goes to flip the station to find something distracting, his phone starts to ring. He quickly gets up and walks over to the phone. When he looks down at the screen and sees Ruby's name, he swallows hard. He hesitantly bends down and presses the answer button.

"Sam, I'm so sorry. I just got your message," she says right away without a greeting.

"What message? I called you?" He has no recollection of calling her recently. He tries to think back to before he shrunk, but still can't remember when he last spoke to Ruby.

"Uh, yeah," she begins, sounding just as confused as Sam. "A couple days ago. What, were you drunk or something?"

"Or something," he answers, looking down at himself. "I kinda… lost my memory," he partially lies, deciding it is best to keep Ruby in the dark about his current situation. At least until he gets all of the answers. Plus he knows if she knows the truth that he will never hear the end of it.

"You lost your memory? Finally got hit in the head one too many times, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. So what did I call you for?"

"You said you were out and needed a refill. Which reminds me, I'm not a keg, you know. Your flask should only be half empty. At this rate you're going to need more than what I can give you."

"What?" he asks, alarmed that he talked to Ruby about this in the motel room. _Did Dean hear that conversation? Does he already know about the demon blood? _As he thinks back, he vaguely remembers calling somebody.

"Relax. It's not a bad thing. It just means your appetite is getting bigger, which means you're closer than ever to finally killing Lilith."

"Oh god," he mutters, running both hands through his hair, feeling stressed. It's bad enough that he risked calling Ruby, but now the demon is telling him that he's been drinking even MORE demon blood than usual? He wants to kill Lilith, he really does. _But what did she mean by 'more than what she can give me'? Is that what it is going to take to kill Lilith? Drinking blood from another demon that's possessing some innocent person? How does that make me any different than a vampire?_ He still isn't sure how far he is willing to go to kill Lilith, but that is definitely an option that he does not want to consider.

"So, when and where should I meet up with you?"

"Meet-Uh. You know, now isn't really a good time," he quickly responds, because now he's suddenly paranoid that Dean or Bobby will walk right in any second now.

"Really?" she says, sounding skeptical and like she doesn't believe a word he's saying. "You sounded pretty desperate in that voicemail. Didn't even say 'please' or 'thank you'."

"I did?" Sam shakes his head and regrets it right away. He holds his hand up to his forehead and closes his eyes. "Look, can I call you back later? Like I said, now's not a good time."

"Dean?" she guesses.

"No. Headache," he corrects her. Though, he's not sure why he even bothered. That bit of information is not important to her.

"Same difference if you ask me," she mutters and gets a sigh in response. "Oh come on, Sam. If it wasn't for Dean, this whole thing would be a lot easier on you. You wouldn't be carrying around all of this unnecessary guilt if it wasn't for him."

Even though they aren't on the best of terms at the moment, Sam is quick to defend Dean. "Yeah, well, right now my brother's the one who has been helping me heal for the past week. Where the hell have you been?"

"Busy," is all she answers with.

"Busy with what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Trying to find Lilith. Geez, Sam. What do you think I was doing?" When he doesn't respond, she continues with what she was saying before. "By the way, I'm betting that headache of yours is because you haven't been taking your vitamins," she says, referring to the demon blood. "Something Big Brother wouldn't approve of even though it would make you feel better."

With his hands on his hips, Sam shakes his head. "Whatever. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"You're not going to get pissy if I don't answer right away, are you?"

Sam ignores her. "_Goodbye_, Ruby," he says with annoyance before ending the call. When he sees 'call ended' flash across the screen, he lets out a heavy sigh and runs his hands through his hair again. Thanks to that call, he is even more conflicted. He still doesn't know how to feel about the fact that he's closer than ever to killing Lilith, only because his appetite for demon blood has grown. Nor is he sure how to feel knowing the demon blood is behind his migraine. But most of all, he doesn't want to let Dean down. After all, he was the reason Sam wanted to kill Lilith in the first place. _But is that still the reason?_

"I need a drink," Sam finally says, but isn't exactly certain on what it is he actually wants to drink.

*~*~*~*SN*~*~*~*

After checking out as many houses as he can, considering some of the victims lived in other towns, Dean pulls up to the Warren household. The last house he visited was only a few blocks away, so he figured he would stop by and check up on the kids.

He walks up to the door, rings the bell and waits. After a few minutes Ryan finally answers the door, and Dean suddenly feels sorry for him. The poor kid looks exhausted and upset.

"Bad time?" Dean asks as Ryan steps aside to let him in the house.

"No," he responds. "It's just… I don't know."

"What is it?"

Ryan sighs. "I got an email from one of Shayla's teachers. He wanted me to know that she is failing, and it's a class she needs to pass to graduate. He said he normally doesn't inform the legal guardians, because it's the student's responsibility. But since he knows…" he stops, catching his mistake. "Knew… our parents, he thought I should be aware of what's going on."

Dean nods in understanding. "Have you confronted her about it, yet?"

"No," Ryan sighs. "She seems pretty stressed as it is with the whole shrinking thing. Didn't want to pile on more, you know?"

"Honestly? I'm betting she already knows. I mean, she seems like a smart girl. I doubt she's failing and doesn't know it."

"Oh no, I know. I just… If I confront her, we'll most likely get into a fight. And I know she'll storm off and hide again. I mean, I could put her up on a table or on the fireplace mantel, but… as nice as it would be to be able to talk to her and not have her run away from me or lock herself in her room, I couldn't do that to her."

Dean is impressed with how mature Ryan is about the situation. But, considering what he's learned about their family, it doesn't really surprise Dean. He finally nods and leans against a bookshelf, putting his hands in his pockets. "So, besides getting emails from the school, how are things? I mean, your sister and brother still remember, I take it?"

Ryan nods. "Yeah, they remember. Shay kinda freaked out at first. Sleeping in the dollhouse confused her; she thought she was normal," he explains. "But she seems to be fine now. Timmy on the other hand… Well… He's been hard to keep tabs on. He keeps running off and hiding. It's like he discovered the world's largest jungle gym. You know, I caught him trying to climb up the curtains in the living room. The kid nearly gave me a heart attack. Don't ask me how he got down here on his own. That's a whole other story. I swear the kid thinks he's invincible at this size."

"Yeah, well, he just better be careful, otherwise he might regret it one of these times."

"Which is exactly what I'm afraid of," Ryan admits. "I actually considered buying a hamster cage for him. I seriously did. I had the keys in my hand."

"What stopped you?" Dean smirks, picturing the little kid climbing all over a hamster cage, like a miniature ape.

Ryan sighs. "One look at him and I thought of how I would feel if the situation was reversed. It's bad enough they can't eat or even use the bathroom on their own, but to be stuck inside a cage? To be truly helpless?" He shakes his head. "I couldn't do it. It felt… cruel. And dehumanizing."

"Wow. I think you just won the award for best big brother."

The younger man chuckles. "Like I said before, I had the keys in my hand." He pauses a moment. "You know, the same could be said about you, too. You're handling this way better than I am."

"Yeah, well, experience with weird helps. 'Expect the unexpected' kinda thing."

"Besides that," Ryan clarifies. "I mean, you watched my brother and sister for me while I went to work. Complete strangers."

"And you are the one who trusted this stranger to watch them," Dean reminds him with a smirk.

"Yeah," he says, looking towards the stairs. "Not like I had a choice. God knows they would fire me if I called in sick all week." He looks back at Dean. "Seriously. Thank you for helping me out."

Dean nods. "So I just wanted to stop in and make sure everything was alright," he explains. "Do you guys need anything?"

"Nah, we're good. Well… considering. Shayla's watching TV and Timmy was playing in his toy castle." Ryan smiles. "He was battling a toy dragon. He wanted Shay to be the damsel in distress, but she refused to play along."

Dean smiles and moves away from the bookshelf. "Alright. I better get going. Sam's probably bored out of his mind."

"Yeah, where is your brother?" Ryan asks, suddenly realizing that the younger Winchester was missing.

"Back at the motel. I had some things I wanted to check up on, and he didn't feel like coming with. He's probably wondering where I am." Dean says, looking at his watch. He walks back to the door. "You know the drill. Call if you need anything or if there's any changes."

Ryan nods and waves his goodbyes as Dean leaves the house.

Once inside the car, Dean starts the engine. As the music plays, he drives off. A few blocks later as he's humming along to the music, tapping his hands against the steering wheel, he suddenly hears something that doesn't belong in the lyrics.

"Do you always listen to your music this loud?" he hears a small voice shout from his right.

Looking down to his side, where he heard the voice come from, Dean spots Timmy. He quickly hits the breaks, pulling the car to the side of the road, and accidentally sending the kid flying. Right before Timmy's about to go over the edge, Dean snags him with one hand. "What the hell?" he says as he turns off the radio and uncurls his fingers. "How did you get in here?"

Timmy shrugs. "Your pocket."

"My pocket?" Dean repeats, lifting Timmy up to the dashboard and setting him down.

"Yep. I snuck in it when you were leaning against the bookshelf."

"Whyyyyy?"

"I got bored of slaying that stupid dragon. It doesn't even bleed! And what's the point in playing dragon slayer if you don't have a princess to save? I look like a freak playing by myself!"

Dean groans and rolls his eyes. "So you figured you would have more fun inside a motel room?"

Timmy shrugs again. "I wanted a change of scenery."

"Right."

"So, it's true?" the little kid suddenly asks.

"What do you mean? Is what true?"

"About Shayla failing."

"Yeah, I guess."

"But why is it a big deal?"

"Because she didn't tell Ryan," Dean explains and Timmy looks away.

"…Oh."

Dean raises his brow as he watches the small boy rock on his feet nervously and begin to whistle. "Well, that's not suspicious at all," Dean comments and Timmy is quick to defend himself.

"I only did it once… Okay, five times… FINE! It was eleven, okay?! But I HAD to pass the class! And Larry is really good at math. But it's okay, because I paid him."

Dean just stares open-mouthed at the little boy.

"… Okay, so I _might_ have used money that I stole from Ryan's wallet."

"First, you lie to your brother and then you STEAL from him?"

"What? It's not MY fault that he just leaves it sitting on his dresser at night, free for the taking. Besides, I'm not the only one who does it! Shay is the one who taught me how to lie and showed me what drawer he keeps it in."

"I thought you just said that he kept his wallet on his dresser?"

"Did I?"

Dean ignores him and shakes his head, clearing his thoughts. "Wait. So you're telling me that your sister lied to your brother, too?" He watches the tiny boy nod his head.

"She's always lying and cutting classes. Why do you think she's failing so many of them?" The kid chuckles, "I can't believe Ryan never caught on."

"Son of a b-," Dean catches himself, not wanting to swear in front of the kid. _Yeah, that's just what the kid needs: more negative influences._ Dean shakes his head, focusing on what the boy just said. "So, you lied to your brother about stealing from him… Same with your sister?"

Timmy slowly nods. "Yeaaaaah. You're not going to rat us out are you?" He asks, but Dean is too worried about something else to answer him.

"That's it. That's the common link. They all lied and kept secrets from their family. Which means…" Dean clenches his jaw and glares out the windshield.

12


End file.
